Despair turns to hope as Marines and civilians help a family

Despair turns to hope when Marines, civilians join to help family
September 19, 2010 9:43 AM
HOPE HODGE
Marines are fond of the self-description “no better friend; no worse enemy.”

A Jacksonville Marine said he has experienced both sides of that dichotomy with military and veterans healthcare in his battle to get treatment for severe post-traumatic stress disorder and recurring seizures caused by a traumatic brain injury.

During his first deployment to Iraq, from Oct. 2006 to Feb. 2007, Lance Cpl. David Brown, now 23, earned the nickname “mortar magnet” for his knack of being in the wrong place at the right time. After a few close encounters with the blasts, one mortar blew up in his face, rattling his brain, knocking him out and blanking his memory of the time surrounding the incident.

Later in the deployment, a Marine buddy, fatally wounded by an improvised explosive device, died in his arms, making the injuries he would carry with him back to the states emotional as well as physical.

Brown’s wife Brooke said her husband returned home displaying classic symptoms of PTSD: anger, increased use of tobacco and alcohol and depression. He also suffered from head-splitting migraines and a sensitivity to light that forced him to wear sunglasses even indoors, although he seemed physically healthy otherwise.

Brown deployed to Iraq again from late 2007 to May 2008. In September, Brooke said, she witnessed David’s first grand mal seizure during an evening at home: He foamed at the mouth, lost control of his bowels and could not speak. The couple rushed to the Naval Hospital where they said medical personnel ran tests, did a spinal tap and finally released him with light duty orders.
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Despair turns to hope

A Veteran's Healing Journey

Just too proud of Lily to even try to find the right words for the work she is doing!



A Veteran's Healing Journey


A Vietnam vet, Marine, with 40 years of chronic, severe PTSD goes on a journey to help him heal. Please help us give other veterans this chance. Donate here, or contact us here. Thank you.

Healing Combat Trauma

The power of Point Man Ministries

Last night I returned home from the Point Man Ministries conference in Buffalo. I left Orlando Friday afternoon drained. Too many reports on people suffering and too few offering hope tends to do that to just about everyone. I got to the airport in no mood to talk to anyone. After security and finding my gate, I saw a man sitting near another gate with a uniform on. Out of habit, I went to say hello. He asked me to sit down.

I told him who I was and showed my credentials since I didn't have my chaplain gear on this trip. As we talked about where he was and where he was heading, he wanted to talk about the needs of someone else. The conversation took a swing and someone we managed to talk about St. Paul.

We talked about the fact St. Paul managed to think he was serving God when he was still called Saul. At that time, Saul was determined to hunt down Christians and rejoiced over their deaths. Saul was positive he was serving God and I am sure he really loved God but someone got everything wrong. He just couldn't believe that Christ was the Son of God.

We talked about the road to Damascus where Christ changed Saul's life and then I asked the soldier what he thought about that. At first he didn't know what I meant. Then I asked, "Why do you think that Christ reached out to change Saul instead of just obliterating him?" The soldier had never thought about it that way until then. As he headed for the door to get on his plane, I said, "It's because God saw into Saul's heart and knew what was there." A look of peace took over the soldier's expression as he waved good-bye.

God sees into the hearts of everyone. He knows what they are feeling, where their heart is and he knows what their intentions are. God saw into Saul's heart and saw the great love he had for God even though he got almost everything else wrong.

I got on the Air Trans flight to Buffalo, taking my seat near the window, in the full flight. Kids, parents, business people and couples all talking about small stuff from their normal lives. I pulled out my Digital Media text book and studied the whole way. I just didn't want to think about anything else. I didn't want to listen to their conversations and I certainly didn't want to think about the news. It was one of the worst flights I have taken in a long time because it was the first time I had my nose buried in a book instead of paying attention to the people around me.

As the plane was beginning to land, a young girl behind me was experiencing landing for the first time. She let out a laugh and said "My tummy is being tickled!" The sounds she made, filled with glee reminded me of what kids sound like on roller-coaster rides as the cart goes up and then down. Her laughter was infections. Soon she had at least ten surrounding rows of people laughing with her. It had to be the best landing I ever had. I wondered where my joy had gone that I was not able to just enjoy life like she was able to do.

I arrived near the baggage claim area and there was Dana Morgan waiting to take me to the hotel. Seeing him standing there, I started to feel more alive. We talked on the way and he told me about what was going to happen over the weekend. I was still a bit off and tired as I checked into the hotel, finally finding my room, dropped off my bags and plugged in everything that had to be charged. My camera battery had to be charged. My laptop had to be charged. My cell phone had to be charged but I didn't have time and there was no possibility of me leaving that in the room, so I prayed it would last as long as I needed it to.

We arrived at My Father's House, the church Dana and his wife started. Right away I was greeted by loving people. I didn't feel like a stranger. Then came the start of the conference. It was the first time I attended a conference in a church. Dana talked about his life and then introduced all the people who were going to be speaking during the weekend. I sat there stunned by the young Iraq veterans there.

March 9, 2004
Three Schofield soldiers injured in Iraq shooting

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

KIRKUK, Iraq — Three Schofield Barracks soldiers remained hospitalized today following a firefight yesterday evening in which their vehicle came under small arms fire on a crowded city street.

Yesterday's firefight represented the greatest number of 25th Infantry Division (Light) soldiers injured in a shooting incident.

Sgt. Israel Burks, a forward observer attached to Company B, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, received multiple gunshot wounds, as did Staff Sgt. Santiago Frias, 24. A third Company B soldier, Staff Sgt. Timothy Pollock, 25, suffered a single gunshot wound, said 2nd Brigade Adjutant Maj. Scott Halstead. Family members have been notified of the injuries.

Pollock and Frias were taken first to Kirkuk Air Base and then to the Army hospital in Baghdad. Burks, whose age was unavailable, was at the air base after having surgery, Halstead said.

All three were expected to be flown to the U.S. medical facility in Landstuhl, Germany, he said.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/dispatches/stories/030904

Ret. Staff Sgt. Tim Pollock shared his story about his time in Iraq, healing, the people he met at Walter Reed during his 18 months of recovery and then what changed in him when he began to use the experiences he had coupled with the love he has for his fellow veterans. Tim could have let his wound and loss of part of his scull along with losing his eye turn him bitter but the love he has in his heart would not surrender. He has changed many lives because he answered Christ's call to help others.

When I got back to the hotel, everything was charged up and ready to go. So was I.

About Point Man Ministries

Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.

However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.

PMIM is run by veterans from all conflicts, nationalities and backgrounds. Although, the primary focus of Point Man has always been to offer spiritual healing from PTSD, Point Man today is involved in group meetings, publishing, hospital visits, conferences, supplying speakers for churches and veteran groups, welcome home projects and community support. Just about any where there are Vets there is a Point Man presence. All services offered by Point Man are free of charge. http://www.pmim.org/index.html

There is an awful lot of talking lately about the role of Chaplains in the military and most of it is negative. For all the Chaplains I know, they are deeply troubled by some that think it's ok to just go out and try to convert servicemen and women into their own denomination, wasting time instead of trying to help a troubled soul reconnect to God or at the very least, be able to release some of their emotional pain. In the process of trying to convert instead of help, they end up not only pushing them away from Christ, but build a barrier against them asking for help at all.

Well here are some people living up to what it is supposed to be like, helping people in whatever way they can without trying to put them into the pew of their church group. If the military Chaplains understood that if they do their job right, that won't be a problem later on because people will follow their example and remember the kindness they received. On the other hand, if they receive judgment and condemnation, that is what they will remember as they walk away.

Speaker after speaker talked about what they were doing and they talked about their own lives. All in all there was hope.

first part of series covering the other speakers.

Back from trip

The Power Of Point Man Ministries
by
Chaplain Kathie

I am sure you noticed that since Friday there have not been new posts, highly unusual for more and the last time I didn't post a lot of you emailed because you were concerned. Judging from the emails I have to read, that has happened again and I didn't want any of you to worry needlessly. I just got back home from Buffalo. I was invited to speak at the Point Man Ministries Conference and that's why I haven't posted. I thought I'd have some time to catch up but the whole weekend was way too busy. I promise that I will answer the emails as soon as I can but right now, there is something pressing me to write instead of unpack.

For years now most of the post I do are centered around the problems and the heartaches most of us share or at least know someone who is suffering. To tell you the truth, it gets very depressing to track all of this and that is exactly where I was when I got on the plane to Buffalo on Friday.

My heart was heavy. Too many bad stories to read and post with too few glimpses of God's hand at work (or us working for Him) and hope was hard to find. Between heaven and hell there is "us" just trying to do the best we can with what we've been given. The barrier to hell seemed to be getting pretty thin lately.

That all changed when I arrived at the church Dana Morgan and his wife Susan built. My Father's House is a perfect name for this place where love lives on. From the moment I walked in I was welcomed like a part of this family. I didn't feel like a stranger to anyone. I had not met Dana before he picked me up from the airport. We just emailed and talked a few times on the phone. I was as if we've known each other for ever. Dana is the President of Point Man Ministries on top of everything else he does.

Once a year they have a conference to share what's going on as well as offer fellowship to Point Man members around the country. Each speaker (more on them later) told heartbreaking stories but followed them up with God's hand at work through them. Things, wondrous things, are happening across the country and this is all good.

People can look at life as if what they want, what they need is all that matters. When it is pointed out to them a lot of people have it worse, they tend to only think of the people who have it better. I know what you're thinking but be honest and admit you do it too. There's a problem in thinking like that but not for the reason you may think.

It's not jealousy that causes harm but forgetfulness that does the harm. It is when we forget that it feels pretty lousy to be in need and feel alone on top of everything else. When no one wants to help, this world can be pretty cold. Yet when we think of the people who have less than we do, are in more need, are feeling deeper pain, that is when miracles can happen. We reach back to them and say "come with me and I'll help you this far." Isn't that what we all pray for, search for, hope for? Isn't that all we need to make us feel better about this life we have for ourselves? Isn't that what Christ told His followers they needed to do? Life is not just about sharing the joys with others but it is also sharing the burdens so the load is a bit lighter.

I'll post some more tomorrow on this but I wanted to let you all know I'm fine. Just really tired. Tomorrow I have a full day of classes but I will get back to all of your emails as soon as possible. I also did some taping while I was there so should have a video on this soon.

Buck denies that he wants to privatize veteran’s health care

Too bad for Buck that the GOP "plan" for this country should they take over again has this "plan" in what they want to do. Along with turning over Social Security to Wall Street and cutting Medicare, this is what they want to do to our veterans. Do they know what this will do to them? Do they know what message they are delivering to our veterans when they say this is their plan? Do they know what harm it does to even talk about cutting the VA budget off their backs? Social Security hits the elderly but it also hits disabled veterans. Medicare hits the elderly but it also hits disabled veterans because a well kept secret is the fact that veterans using the VA have to have other insurance to cover anything not connected to their disability. Most of them have Medicare or Medicaid to supplement coverage from the VA.

This "plan" should mean three strikes and they are out! All the advances have happened since 2007 when Democrats took over the Chairmanship of the Committees in the House and Senate. The problems veterans faced just got worse while the GOP heads ignored all of it. Now they want control again? Look what they've done to stop bills from being voted on and tying them up while veterans suffer waiting. Look at how they voted against veterans every chance they had. The GI Bill, they didn't want that because it was "too generous" for the troops. They didn't want to give them pay raises. This shows they are against the servicemen and women but favor the defense contractors just like turning over the VA to companies would favor the companies and harm the veterans.

Veterans’ health care debate goes on
Buck denies that he wants to privatize veteran’s health care
Gene Davis, DDN Staff Writer
Friday, September 24, 2010

Democrat Michael Bennet’s campaign yesterday continued to hammer Republican gubernatorial rival Ken Buck for saying he believes that the private sector is better suited than the government to run a veterans administration’s hospital.

Buck’s campaign fired back, however, saying that Bennet’s campaign is trying to mislead the media and voters with a video clip that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Bennet’s campaign held a press conference with Democrat lawmakers and veterans to blast Buck for the “troubling” comment he made at a Tea Party event earlier this year. The comment Ń in which Buck said, “Would a veteran’s administration hospital that is run by the private sector be better run then by the public sector? In my view, yes;” Ń came in a small clip circulated by the Bennet campaign.

Despite having some issues along the way, veterans are continually more satisfied with their government-run health care compared to people with private health providers, according to the American Customer Satisfaction index. Artie Guerrero, a veteran who was wounded in Vietnam, said at Bennet’s press conference yesterday that the government should continue to provide health care for veterans.

“To turn it over to bureaucrats and the bureaucracy that have absolutely no knowledge of military process or the VA process would be totally wrong,” he said.
read more  here

Veterans health care debate goes on

Restoring Hope to defeat military suicides

I am sure you've heard the expression "Where there is life, there is hope." This saying usually means that the next breath we take offers hope of something getting better. People only commit suicide when they have lost all hope of anything getting better.

If we hope that tomorrow we'll finally feel loved, there is a reason to get up the next day.
If we hope we'll find a job or someone will give us a chance to prove ourselves, there is a reason to wake up in the morning.
If we hope we'll find justice, find help, find someone does care about us, then it is worth planning on waking up.

Yet if we have spent far too many nights hoping and too many days waiting, hope slips away and the reason to try one more day, one more hour, one more minute is just too painful to even try to last.

This is why so many commit suicide. The reasons behind the downfall are too numerous in normal civilian life but with all of the usual reasons people have for trying to end their own life, the members of the military and survivors of traumatic experiences have one more. They want to escape the ghosts haunting them. They grow tired of waiting to "get over it" and they don't want to believe there is someone out there able to help them because whoever they are, they are not showing up to do it for them.

With PTSD they are disconnected emotionally from family and friends. While this pushing away of people in their lives distances them from feeling their pain, it also prevents them from the connection that would offer them support and love. They get the idea no one cares. They feel they let down their families. They feel as if they are condemned to the hell they live with. The list of levels of hell go on at the same time they want to return to being "who" they were before all of it happened.

If they know others have been in the same emotional state they are in then there is hope. There is hope because the others are standing up and still breathing after being through the same horrors. They offer hope by simply still being alive. They offer more hope when they can talk about where they were, what they went through and how much it changed them, but are still alive. Giving someone the chance to hear about a survivor surviving life after is the best medication on the planet because they find hope again that they can heal too.

Restoring Hope: On Covering Suicide

On Friday, Sept. 24th the Pentagon Channel wraps up its special Restoring Hope programming on This Week in the Pentagon. Throughout the month, we have introduced you to families impacted by the loss of a loved one due to suicide as well the warning signs and what actions the military is taking in suicide prevention.

In this blog post, Pentagon Channel producer Terese Schlachter shares her experience working on this special project. You can hear more of her thoughts, along with This Week in the Pentagon producer Candace Hewitt, by clicking here. For comprehensive Restoring Hope coverage please visit http://www.defense.gov/restoringhope.

When Danelle Hackett drives to the Walmart to do her grocery shopping, she puts a cooler in her trunk. That’s because she lives so far from the frozen food section, stuff will thaw before she gets it home. She agreed to move to Carpenter, Wyoming because her husband, a 26 year Marine Corps veteran, wanted to retire to a wide open space. He bought the house after sending his wife of more than 20 years just a picture. She wanted so much for him to be happy. So they lived there- occasionally defending their garden from wandering horses- watching snow drift easily over their four foot fence.

On June 5, Jeff Hackett drove the distance to the American Legion hall in Cheyenne, where he shot himself.

Danelle is one of the widows I spent an afternoon with, as part of the Pentagon Channel’s special coverage of suicide in the military. Her grief was raw. She sobbed as she told me how her husband’s PTSD had worsened and how he wouldn’t ask for help. But she wanted to be part of the series “Restoring Hope”, so others might learn from her story. I still look at her Facebook page occasionally, to see what she’s thinking about. Comments people write to her are warm and supportive, but as I read them I imagine all their voices throwing echoes because they’re coming from so far away.
click link above for more

Soldier shot in Fort Carson domestic call is two tour Iraq Vet

Officer Shoots and Wounds Fort Carson Soldier On Post
Reporter: Lisa McDivitt
Fort Carson officials say they were called to a home on post at 11:45 a.m. regarding a soldier acting erratically. Twenty-five minutes later, police say the soldier came at them in a threatening manner and that's when one officer took a shot to subdue him. The soldier was taken to Memorial Hospital, and was in good condition on Thursday night.

A Fort Carson soldier was wounded at his home on Thursday afternoon. Officials on the Mountain Post say the soldier was acting in an erratic manner, and police officers at Fort Carson tried to subdue him.

After spending about half-an-hour calming the soldier down, officials say the soldier came at the officers in a threatening way, and that's when one of the officers shot him. Authorities say the soldier had a knife, and sources close to the soldier's family say he was shot in the hand.

Officials say the man's family was not home at the time of the shooting. He's part the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, which is currently deployed to Iraq.

On Thursday afternoon, 11 News spoke with people who live in the same neighborhood as the soldier. They say he was shot in the hand that was holding the knife.

It all happened at the Choctaw Village apartments on the post. The people who spoke with 11 News are close to the soldier's family. They say the soldier is in his early 20's, and had been deployed to Iraq twice. The sources close to his family also say the soldier has a history of domestic abuse and attempts at taking his own life.
read more here
Officer Shoots and Wounds Fort Carson Soldier On Post

Fallen Marine's dad says 'We're not alone'

Marine's dad: 'We're not alone'

Josh Ose services next week
By ROBERT LEE LONG
Community Editor
Published: Thursday, September 23, 2010 1:07 AM CDT
HERNANDO — Hugs were exchanged all around in a backyard patio of the Ose home, a stately two-story white-columned house off winding Robertson Gin Road where grain silos dot the landscape.

A bumper sticker on the family car in the driveway proudly proclaimed "My Son is A U.S. Marine."

The woods and fields surrounding the home where Josh Ose roamed and played as a youngster stood deathly quiet during the long walk up the paved driveway. The hushed stillness was suddenly replaced by the clamor of voices and the click of camera lens on the back patio.

"Josh would have loved this," Sissy Ose said of her Marine Corps son, as her eyes brimmed with tears.

Ose was referring to the outpouring of support she and husband Ross have received since word spread through this close-knit community that the couple's only child, 19-year-old Josh had been killed in what may turn out to be one of the worst single attacks so far in Afghanistan.

Pfc. Joshua Ose died Monday while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
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We are not alone

Two veterans healing from PTSD from Khe Sanh to Kirkut

VIDEO: Two soldiers deal with mental, emotional battle scars
By RON VIDIKA
rvidika@MorningJournal.com
LORAIN — If not for their disparate ages, you would think Bill Wenger and Rachel Ferrer fought in the same war.

Both came home from battle with clean bills of health, physically. But mentally and emotionally, war had taken its toll on both in the form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, psychological turmoil brought on by the horrors of battle that remain with soldiers long after the war has ended.

Wenger, 61, a native Lorainite, now living in Florida, served two tours of duty in Vietnam and fought in the battle of Khe Sanh, one of the bloodiest of the war.

He is the author of “A Bunker Mentality: Surviving War and Living with PTSD.”

Ferrer, 26, of Lorain, served six months with the U.S. Air Force in Iraq, manning an M-60 machine gun atop a Humvee through the dusty, narrow and deadly streets of Kirkuk.

Both Wenger and Ferrer came back from their respective wars with the same set of untreated emotional and mental wounds.
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Two soldiers deal with mental, emotional battle scars

DOD:5 Fort Campbell soldiers and 4 Navy special forces named killed in crash

5 Campbell troops dead in Afghan helo crash

The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Sep 23, 2010 11:10:14 EDT

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Five members of the 101st Airborne Division are among the nine American troops killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, the military said Wednesday.

The five were assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, which deployed in March, said Fort Campbell spokesman Rick Rzepka.

The crash Tuesday was the worst coalition helicopter crash in Afghanistan in four years.

Killed from the 101st were

Maj. Robert F. Baldwin, 39, of Muscatine, Iowa;
Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah;
Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan, 26;
Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell, 25, of Pleasant Plains, Ill.; and
Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr., 23, of Elkhart, Ind.

The military said McClellan was from Minnesota; his father said his son grew up near Battle Ground, Wash.

read more here
5 Campbell troops dead in Afghan helo crash


Navy IDs 4 killed in Afghanistan helo crash

By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 23, 2010 15:16:23 EDT

Navy officials have released the names of the four Navy personnel killed when their helicopter crashed Tuesday in Zabul province, southern Afghanistan.

Three Navy SEALs and one naval special warfare support sailor are among those confirmed dead. Five U.S. Army air crew members also died in the crash. Three others, including another Navy SEAL, were injured in the crash and remain in critical condition at a U.S. medical facility in Afghanistan.

Killed were:

Lt. Brendan John Looney, 29, a native of Owings, Md

Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) (SW/FMF) David Blake McLendon, 30, of Thomasville, Ga

Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Adam Olin Smith, 26, of Hurdland, Mo

Special Warfare Operator 3rd Class (SEAL) Denis Miranda, 24, of Toms River, N.J.

read more here

Navy IDs 4 killed in Afghanistan helo crash

More contractors killed than military personnel since January

More contractors killed than military personnel since January

By Nick Wakeman
Sep 23, 2010

Since the beginning of 2010, more U.S. contractors have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan than military personnel, according to a study by a law student and procurement expert.

After analyzing data from the Defense and Labor departments, Steven Schooner, co-director of the Government Procurement Law Program at George Washington University, and Collin Swan, a law student at George Washington, estimated that 232 contractors have been killed in Afghanistan since January, compared to 195 U.S. troops. In Iraq, 204 contractors have been killed since January 2009, compared to 188 troops.

read more here
More contractors killed than military personnel since January

Vietnam Vet inducted into Chapel of the Four Chaplains

St. Louisville man inducted into Chapel of the Four Chaplains
Sep 23, 2010
Written by
L.B. WHYDE
ST. LOUISVILLE -- It was more than 30 years after St. Louisville resident Gary Jones served in the Vietnam War that he started talking about his war experiences.

He attended his first Vietnam Veterans of America meeting in 2000, liked what he saw and became a member of Chapter 55.

Since then, he has made up for lost time discussing his experiences.

Jones has served on a number of local, district, national and even international committees. He has taken five trips back to Vietnam to assist in recovering people who were missing in action on both sides of the war.

In recognition of his efforts, he recently was inducted into the Chapel of the Four Chaplains.

The four chaplains were four U.S. Army chaplains who died during the sinking of the troop ship USAT Dorchester off the coast of Newfoundland in 1942, during World War II.

After being torpedoed and left in the dark, the crew started to panic.

The four chaplains -- Methodist Rev. George Fox, Rabbi Alexander Goode, Roman Catholic Priest John Washington and Reformed Church in America Rev. Clark Poling -- calmed the men and organized an orderly evacuation of the ship.

As the lifejackets were passed out, the supply ran out. The four chaplains removed their own lifejackets and gave them to others. The chaplains last were seen, arms linked, praying and singing for the safety of the men, as they went down with the ship.
read more hereSt Louisville man inducted into Chapel of the Four Chaplains

VA defends Agent Orange, heart disease links

VA defends Agent Orange, heart disease links
By BEN EVANS (AP) – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Thursday defended an expensive proposal to extend disability payments to Vietnam veterans who get heart disease, saying studies show a significant link between the ailment and the toxic defoliant Agent Orange.

Responding to concerns about the costs of a rapidly expanding program, Shinseki told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that the law requires his agency to grant automatic benefits for diseases that are scientifically associated with Agent Orange. It leaves him no discretion to weigh costs or other considerations, he said, such as the fact that heart disease occurs commonly in men in their 60s and is strongly linked to smoking, poor diet and other factors.

Shinseki, a Vietnam veteran wounded in combat, said six of nine rigorous studies reviewed by the agency showed strong associations between the herbicide and heart disease. The evidence "more than satisfies" the law's requirements, he said.

read more here
VA defends Agent Orange, heart disease links

President Obama, be not ashamed

President Obama, be not ashamed
by
Chaplain Kathie

There are a lot of people in this country you will never please. Some are just upset a Democrat is in the White House while others are bothered by the color of your skin. There is nothing you can do to satisfy them. For them, all they care about is defeating you no matter what it is you are trying to do. This always happens in life. There will always be someone out there trying to take away what you have or make you feel as if you are nothing at all. Considering how you grew up, what you managed to do with your life because you had loving support from your family, you should be very proud of all you accomplished. The people who hate you say that you are a Muslim but they are also the same people who complained about your attending church with Rev. Wright without ever once noticing the word "church" instead of mosque. They are also the same group of people saying that you were not born in Hawaii ignoring the fact it would have taken a massive conspiracy over 40 years ago when the newspaper announced your birth in order to pull anything like what they are suggesting.

But for right now and tomorrow you need to pray for their souls since everything they are doing goes against what is in the Bible and everything Christ taught. So be not ashamed of them breaking the commandment of "thou shall not bear false witness" because the shame belongs to them.

When others attack you, they say that what you want to do and have done has hurt the country. You need to ask yourself where all these people were when what was being done to hurt this country, getting us into the trouble we're in were back then when they could have prevented most of this. Where were they when the tax cuts for the rich were not funded? Where were they when the attacks of 9-11 happened, all the defenses this nation had all failed at the very time they were needed?

These same people did not want to know what happened, who failed or why nothing worked. These same people were silent when troops were sent into Afghanistan and nothing was ready to take care of the widows and orphans of the fallen troops nor the wounded coming home needing the services of the DOD and the VA to take care of them. These same people did not care about sending troops into Iraq or the fact neither operation was funded in President Bush's budget. Both were paid for with borrowed money and provided from emergency supplemental requests. They just didn't care that two wars important enough to risk the lives of the troops was not important enough to plan for. In the process, thousands of the troops died and tens of thousands were wounded but left to be without services they needed due to their service to this country. Anyone asking for plans was told they were "againt the troops" because they did not support the President allowing President Bush to do what he wanted to as Commander-in-Chief.

Yet while all this was going on, this picture is one of the reasons why you proved how much you do care about our veterans.


You were running for the Presidency when this was taken at the Montana National Guards. You wanted to know about their efforts to stop military suicide. The cable news stations did not report on it, few other media people thought it was important. They didn't think it was important to report on the number of suicides or the fact that we had so many returning from where we sent them with the ghosts of war haunting them. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is tied to suicide as well as self-medicating, and you knew this. You knew this because you cared enough to find out and listen. What I found most remarkable about this was the fact you knew anything about what the Montana National Guard was doing at all. There were so many other programs beginning back then but this is the one you wanted to learn the most about. This happened to be the one I thought was important as well, but then again, I track all of this so while it is no big deal I knew about it, it was impressive that you knew with everything else you had to learn about running this country.

See Mr. President, it is very telling how much you do care about the troops and the veterans in this country because they are such a small percentage of the population. Doing things for them does not make national cable news shows. You showed how much you care because of the budget and all the advances that have happened since you took office. So be not ashamed you fought for the men and women in the military instead of defense contractors. Be not ashamed you fought for our veterans while the people who attack you want to slash funding for the VA and then turn around and put the care of veterans into the hands of profit making corporations. Be not ashamed you want to save their lives and put a roof over the heads of homeless veterans while other presidents ignored them. Be not ashamed you wanted to increase the pay for those who serve and be not ashamed you want to take care of them when they need help to care for themselves. Be not ashamed you wanted them to be able to get a good education when their service was done while people like John McCain said it was "just too generous" and would cause troops to leave the military.

When others fought against health insurance reform, they were actually fighting for the insurance companies and health conglomerations. Be not ashamed you fought for families, fought for people who were not able to receive healthcare and driven into bankruptcy just because someone got sick. Be not ashamed you wanted to help young adults be able to be covered under their parents plans so they had time to get on their own two feet. Be not ashamed that people will not longer have to face having their insurance canceled because they got sick.

When others fought to stop financial reform they were in turn fighting for banks and credit card companies. Be not ashamed you fought for people who have to use credit cards and deal with banks for everything they need to survive. Be not ashamed you saw what was being done to us and wanted to stop it from happening.

When others say they want to cut the deficit while these same people were responsible for it happening in the first place, they are in fact fighting for the rich, corporations who see it as their duty to stockholders to create jobs in other countries while we lost jobs here. They are fighting for them while they are destroying us. They had their years of creating all these problems but now they attack you for trying to do something about it. They created all this hardship in eight years but complain because the few bills they allowed to be voted on in the Senate, were passed and have addressed what people need in this country. They twist and manipulate what good work you have done and make it look evil. We know better and see how much you do care.

Be not ashamed that you want to preserve social security while they want to privatize it.
Be not ashamed that you cut waste in Medicare while they say that the cuts were against the elderly. Not one senior lost anything but they want them to think it happened. The cut was done against waste and fraud but they want to turn it into something evil to put fear into the elderly.

Be not ashamed that you care about the education of our kids while they want to eliminate the Department of Education, cut teachers and twist history around to suit their own personal religious beliefs.

Be not ashamed you want to keep cops on the streets and put firefighters back to work. They say they don't to pay taxes to do it. These same people don't want to fund tax cuts but want to do them at the same time they complain about the deficit.

Be not ashamed you want to put people back to work fixing our roads and bridges for our future needs as much as you want to meet the needs of people who just want to get back to work for their living.

Be not ashamed you wanted to extend unemployment benefits while they didn't even want to allow it to come to a vote.

Be not ashamed you wanted to stop the policy that keeps people from serving, not matter how heroically, not matter how deeply committed they were to our national defense just because they were gay. Our coalition partners serving side by side with our troops in Afghanistan see this as a non-issue yet they want to portray gay servicemen and women as evil, thus insulting our coalition partners and inflicting religious beliefs on our own forces instead of providing for equal rights as honorable humans.

Mr. President I heard the woman say on TV she was tired of defending you. I am here to tell you that I am not tired of defending you at all. I will fight for you for as long as I see who you are trying to help and know we are your thoughts. I am not so lucky to have a job but I don't blame you. I lost it before you took office two and a half years ago. I didn't get unemployment because I worked for a church that didn't pay into the system. Do I blame you for this? No it isn't your fault. I can't find a job but again, had you not done anything, a lot more of my "neighbors" wouldn't have jobs either. I went back to college with student loans and VA education benefits because I am married to a disabled veteran. When I finish, I want to continue to help veterans and make better videos than I do now so that they understand what PTSD is along with helping their families help them heal.

Mr. President, there are many times I see you on TV and how much this is wearing on you but for all you've done, do not allow them to get the best of you while you are trying to give your best to us. Be not ashamed of how much you have done already and do not let them beat you down. You decided to fight for us when you became a Senator. Hang onto your passion and what you know is the right thing to do and stop letting them even suggest they know better than you do. They are the ones who sent us into the abyss in the first place. The sin and shame of what they did to good, honest and hard working people, along with those who serve the rest of us, belongs to them. God will judge them as they have treated us and as we hoped for mercy from them, they will not receive any from God.

(New International Version)
Galatians 6
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

You have fought for us, the people in need and forgotten about for far too long. They shall reap what they sow by fighting for greedy people against the needy.

9 troops killed in Afghanistan helo crash

9 troops killed in Afghanistan helo crash

By Deb Riechmann - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Sep 22, 2010 6:03:30 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — A NATO helicopter crashed Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, killing nine international troops in a region where forces are ramping up pressure on Taliban insurgents. It was the deadliest chopper crash for the coalition in four years.

A “large number” of Americans were among those who died, according to a senior military official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because not all relatives had been notified. He said it remained unclear whether troops of other nationalities were among the fatalities.

The cause was not immediately clear. The Taliban claimed to have shot down the helicopter, but NATO said there were no reports of hostile fire.

It happened in Zabul province — rugged terrain where helicopters are heavily used to transport military troops spread over mountainous areas with few roads.
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9 troops killed in Afghanistan helo crash