by
Chaplain Kathie
My husband was married before we met. He was married soon after he came back from Vietnam. During their six years together, she didn't want to know about Vietnam, had no tolerance for his nightmares, flashbacks or short term memory loss. She didn't want to hear anything about Vietnam and they separated so many times he lost count. She just couldn't take it and this, this was when his PTSD was mild.
His Dad, a WWII veteran with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, didn't want to talk to him about war at all other than a few stories about some of his friends. His Mom didn't want to talk to him about anything other than what she wanted him to do for her.
Friends didn't want to listen and he never felt he could talk to any of them even if they were willing to listen. A few of them were also Vietnam veterans but they didn't talk about much either. There was no communication and no support. They had nothing to really connect. No emails with buddies back home in the states. No news reports from around the country. No books on PTSD with personal stories were written. There were only clinical books for me to read when we met and I wanted to find out why this veteran was so much different than everyone else in my family.
My Dad was a disabled Korean Vet and my uncles served in WWII. My husband was totally different.
Today there is the Internet, books, videos, media attention, sites like this one putting together news reports from around the country and more programs than I can remember, yet today there are still high numbers of divorce, suicides and attempted suicides with more and more veterans ending up homeless from Iraq and Afghanistan. Their families and friends are not perfect. Most of them have the same attitude my husband's inner circle did when they could have been trying to be supportive instead of telling him to "get over it" and stop.
Today wives like me are no longer left in the abyss trying to claw their way out alone because they have a lifeline to reach for, but too many never take hold of it. Their families, spouse and kids, suffer just as much as they do but they have the power to end the suffering and begin the healing. They have the power within their reach but they just won't take it.
Do they love their veteran enough to learn? Do they care enough to find out what they can do to help instead of judge and blame?
My husband's ex-wife didn't care enough to find out what she was facing and their marriage ended after six years. We've been married for 26 years and with all the heartache and struggles, I wouldn't have missed a day of it because in the process of learning what I could do for him, I discovered a more marvelous man under all the pain he carried.
All of us can discover the people they really are under all the pain when we care enough to learn and help them heal. In the process, we heal ourselves, forgive what caused us pain because we understand what is behind it and know how to respond to help them see the person they are under all of it.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
College Hosts PTSD Seminar
College Hosts PTSD Seminar
One Of Five Soldiers Return With Disorder
By: Fred Halstied
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A recent study shows that one out of five soldiers returns from Iraq or Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
On Saturday, the University of Phoenix held a workshop teaching counseling professionals how to diagnose and treat local soldiers who have this condition.
"Military personnel are returning to Colorado Springs with their families, and they're abusing drugs," said Jody Tomberlin, licensed clinical social worker. "When soldiers return from the Middle East, they often have angry outburst, resulting in bar fights, domestic violence, and difficulty holding jobs."
read more here
College Hosts PTSD Seminar
One Of Five Soldiers Return With Disorder
By: Fred Halstied
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A recent study shows that one out of five soldiers returns from Iraq or Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
On Saturday, the University of Phoenix held a workshop teaching counseling professionals how to diagnose and treat local soldiers who have this condition.
"Military personnel are returning to Colorado Springs with their families, and they're abusing drugs," said Jody Tomberlin, licensed clinical social worker. "When soldiers return from the Middle East, they often have angry outburst, resulting in bar fights, domestic violence, and difficulty holding jobs."
read more here
College Hosts PTSD Seminar
Resilience training won't work tomorrow if yesterday is an example
It doesn't have to be as bad as it has been but as long as they take this kind of approach, it is unlikely to get better any time soon. "Resilience training" has not worked up until now and that is reflected by the ever increasing suicides along with attempted suicides. Drug and alcohol abuse are up, arrests are up so much so many states have rightly set up Veterans Courts, mental health claims are up, divorces are up and the list goes on.
I've been married 26 years but other couples have lasted 30 to 40 years while sharing a home with PTSD. We raised our kids to understand why their Dad acts the way he does and they didn't end up blaming themselves. We got our emotions out of the way and reacted with our intelligence using the view of a wounded combat veteran standing in front of us instead of some kind of jerk out to cause a fight. We helped them see all the good within them because we were able to forgive and we were able to forgive because we understood there was a reason behind what they did.
Above all, we helped them forgive themselves.
PTSD comes after trauma. From an outside force attacking them. It hits the emotional part of their brain. Under 25, this part is not fully developed. In other words, their character is not carved in stone yet. Exposure to traumatic events in combat weighs heavily on them and the number of times they are exposed to it, crushes them. Our job is to take the weight off their souls brick by brick. It was that way for wives of Vietnam Vets and will be that way for today's veterans.
It doesn't matter if the people in their lives are a spouse, sibling or parent or even a friend. We are the ones on the front lines of this. While they fight the battles in combat, we must fight the battles for their lives but we must do so fully armed with understanding, love, forgiveness and patience with them. "Resilience training" should not be geared toward them but should be geared toward us so that we have the ability to help them heal. From what I've seen, this attempt falls flat because the people running this type of program have little understanding what it is like to be in their boots 24-7 or live with them.
None of what we see has to happen but much we have done should happen. It won't as long as the powers that be will not listen to what has worked because they are too busy asking what has failed. If the people in their lives get emotionally hurt, then they turn away from them. Most of this comes from lack of understanding and looking at them as if they were the way they used to be. Homeless veterans, for the most part, can be tracked back to coming back with PTSD and families that were destroyed by it because no one understood why any of the damage done was happening to them. Want to really make a difference, then start what what already has. The track record of aware Vietnam veterans' families proves nothing is impossible.
None of what we're seeing has to happen as long as they start to look at what has worked instead of what has failed.
Comprehensive Soldier Fitness
Resilience training and post traumatic stress disorder
Resilience training reflects a strength-based, positive psychology approach to Warrior behavioral health. It is designed for Warriors, Leaders, Spouses, Families and behavioral health providers. Training and information is targeted to all phases of the Warrior deployment cycle, Warrior life cycle and Warrior support system.
Do you believe this training will prepare you to cope with deployment and the effects of deployment, to include post traumatic stress disorder?
For more information on Resilience Training, visit https://www.resilience.army.mil/.
I've been married 26 years but other couples have lasted 30 to 40 years while sharing a home with PTSD. We raised our kids to understand why their Dad acts the way he does and they didn't end up blaming themselves. We got our emotions out of the way and reacted with our intelligence using the view of a wounded combat veteran standing in front of us instead of some kind of jerk out to cause a fight. We helped them see all the good within them because we were able to forgive and we were able to forgive because we understood there was a reason behind what they did.
Above all, we helped them forgive themselves.
PTSD comes after trauma. From an outside force attacking them. It hits the emotional part of their brain. Under 25, this part is not fully developed. In other words, their character is not carved in stone yet. Exposure to traumatic events in combat weighs heavily on them and the number of times they are exposed to it, crushes them. Our job is to take the weight off their souls brick by brick. It was that way for wives of Vietnam Vets and will be that way for today's veterans.
It doesn't matter if the people in their lives are a spouse, sibling or parent or even a friend. We are the ones on the front lines of this. While they fight the battles in combat, we must fight the battles for their lives but we must do so fully armed with understanding, love, forgiveness and patience with them. "Resilience training" should not be geared toward them but should be geared toward us so that we have the ability to help them heal. From what I've seen, this attempt falls flat because the people running this type of program have little understanding what it is like to be in their boots 24-7 or live with them.
None of what we see has to happen but much we have done should happen. It won't as long as the powers that be will not listen to what has worked because they are too busy asking what has failed. If the people in their lives get emotionally hurt, then they turn away from them. Most of this comes from lack of understanding and looking at them as if they were the way they used to be. Homeless veterans, for the most part, can be tracked back to coming back with PTSD and families that were destroyed by it because no one understood why any of the damage done was happening to them. Want to really make a difference, then start what what already has. The track record of aware Vietnam veterans' families proves nothing is impossible.
Free Meals for Veterans
News from Military Connection
Free Meals for Military and Veterans
McCormick & Schmick's. For the 11th year in a row, the 87 locations in 25 states are offering free entrees to veterans on Sunday, Nov. 7th. The chain also requests military ID and highly recommends reservations. The promotion is on Sunday instead of Veterans Day, "because it allows vets to bring their families who might not be available during the week," CEO Bill Freeman says.
Golden Corral is offering free buffet meals - including beverage and dessert - to current military and veterans on Monday, Nov. 16, from 5 to 9 p.m. No military ID is required for its ninth annual Military Appreciation Monday, according to Dolly Mercer, national events manager. The event is held on this date, she says, "so we don't interfere with Veterans Day activities."
Applebee's is offering a free entree on Wednesday to veterans and all active-duty military from 11 a.m. to midnight at all 1,900 locations. Although Applebee's requests some kind of military ID, "We're not going to argue with folks who might forget to bring it," says Sam Rothschild, senior vice president of operations.
Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation is offering free doughnuts to all Veterans and active military personnel. Just visit any participating Krispy Kreme to redeem your free doughnuts. No identification required but keep it available anyway.
Outback Steakhouse - Free Blooming Onion and beverage.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
GOP Trick or threat?
I don't know what has happened to the people of this country but if I get into one more conversation with a smart person spouting off nonsense, I think I may just stop trying to set them straight and let them go off believing whatever they want so they can look totally stupid to someone without any patience at all.
It has been my job to know what the truth is and I can tell you that this is true. I listened to them talk for far too long to understand the difference between talk and real action. They say they support the troops and the veterans but on their agenda, their actual plans, they want to hand over the VA to private corporations, along with Social Security and Medicare while getting rid of the Department of Education. This is how they plan to knock down the deficit plus making sure we go back to the days when people ended up without medical care because they didn't have insurance. That is exactly what all the fighting has been about but they twist and snare words from fact so suit themselves on a daily basis.
Take down here in Florida for example. Grayson and Kosmos have been accused of cutting Medicare along with Nancy Pelosi. This accusation was by GOP contributors. The same people always talking about the deficit and how government doesn't work. These three people did in fact cut Medicare but they did it from cutting waste, fraud and abuse, while the commercial wants people to think someone lost benefits. How dumb is that? The very people wanting to cut it are accusing watchdogs of doing it? Where were will these people be when our parents are elderly and need medical care along with a social security check to be able to live after working all their lives? It's bad enough these same people stopped an increase in Social Security and Veterans cost of living raises last year and plan to do the same this year.
I've heard enough and read enough to know that when it comes to really caring about the people this country was built by and sustained by, they couldn't care less.
I heard them say there wasn't enough money to take care of our veterans because, if you can believe their own words, "there are two wars to pay for" at the same time Iraq and Afghanistan were never included in the budgets until Obama, the man they love to hate, decided they were important enough to include in the budget and pay for. They complain about so many things needing to be paid for when it matters to us but when it comes to the rich people in this country, nothing is too good for them.
The simple truth is if you read and check their voting record, notice all the bills they stopped in the Senate including how they voted against the GI Bill, pay raises for the troops and cost of living raises for our disabled veterans, then you will know that if you still think they deserve your vote, you should be prepared to have people laugh because your fly is down or your dress is stuck in your underwear, because you'll not only look that dumb, you'll be to blame for us going back to the days when no one cared about anyone but themselves.
They just didn't care about us when they blocked so many bills because power trumped all else. They figured if Obama fails then we'll be suffering so much we'd want them back but they didn't count on how bright we all are and we figured out that in the end, none of us matter to them but we do matter to the people who have been fighting for us since 2007 when the Democrats took back control of the committees and things began to work for common folk like us. Don't let the GOP trick you into not knowing when you are being threatened with what they want to do to us so you forget who has been trying to do things for us!
Rant for the week concluded.
Support For Veterans Shows Sharp Partisan Divide
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on October 23rd, 2010 4:39 am by HL
Support For Veterans Shows Sharp Partisan Divide
According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America Action Fund, Republicans in Congress have dramatically failed to support our troops after they come home. IAVA’s 2010 Veteran Report Card, based on the key veterans’ legislation that came to a vote during the 111th Congress, exposed a sharp partisan divide on […]
According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America Action Fund, Republicans in Congress have dramatically failed to support our troops after they come home. IAVA’s 2010 Veteran Report Card, based on the key veterans’ legislation that came to a vote during the 111th Congress, exposed a sharp partisan divide on the level of support for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow tabulated yesterday. Of the 94 elected officials that earned an A or A+ rating from IAVA, 91 were Democrats. Of the 154 officials who received a D or F, 142 were Republicans:
read the rest here
Support For Veterans Shows Sharp Partisan Divide
It has been my job to know what the truth is and I can tell you that this is true. I listened to them talk for far too long to understand the difference between talk and real action. They say they support the troops and the veterans but on their agenda, their actual plans, they want to hand over the VA to private corporations, along with Social Security and Medicare while getting rid of the Department of Education. This is how they plan to knock down the deficit plus making sure we go back to the days when people ended up without medical care because they didn't have insurance. That is exactly what all the fighting has been about but they twist and snare words from fact so suit themselves on a daily basis.
Take down here in Florida for example. Grayson and Kosmos have been accused of cutting Medicare along with Nancy Pelosi. This accusation was by GOP contributors. The same people always talking about the deficit and how government doesn't work. These three people did in fact cut Medicare but they did it from cutting waste, fraud and abuse, while the commercial wants people to think someone lost benefits. How dumb is that? The very people wanting to cut it are accusing watchdogs of doing it? Where were will these people be when our parents are elderly and need medical care along with a social security check to be able to live after working all their lives? It's bad enough these same people stopped an increase in Social Security and Veterans cost of living raises last year and plan to do the same this year.
I've heard enough and read enough to know that when it comes to really caring about the people this country was built by and sustained by, they couldn't care less.
I heard them say there wasn't enough money to take care of our veterans because, if you can believe their own words, "there are two wars to pay for" at the same time Iraq and Afghanistan were never included in the budgets until Obama, the man they love to hate, decided they were important enough to include in the budget and pay for. They complain about so many things needing to be paid for when it matters to us but when it comes to the rich people in this country, nothing is too good for them.
The simple truth is if you read and check their voting record, notice all the bills they stopped in the Senate including how they voted against the GI Bill, pay raises for the troops and cost of living raises for our disabled veterans, then you will know that if you still think they deserve your vote, you should be prepared to have people laugh because your fly is down or your dress is stuck in your underwear, because you'll not only look that dumb, you'll be to blame for us going back to the days when no one cared about anyone but themselves.
They just didn't care about us when they blocked so many bills because power trumped all else. They figured if Obama fails then we'll be suffering so much we'd want them back but they didn't count on how bright we all are and we figured out that in the end, none of us matter to them but we do matter to the people who have been fighting for us since 2007 when the Democrats took back control of the committees and things began to work for common folk like us. Don't let the GOP trick you into not knowing when you are being threatened with what they want to do to us so you forget who has been trying to do things for us!
Rant for the week concluded.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Senator Doran says "Pentagon dropped the ball on chemical exposure of US Troops in Iraq"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Friday CONTACT: Barry E. Piatt
October 22, 2010 PHONE: 202-224-0577
Follow up report is delayed:
DORGAN: DOD IG REPORT CONFIRMS PENTAGON DROPPED THE BALL ON CHEMICAL EXPOSURE OF U.S. TROOPS IN IRAQ
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said Friday a preliminary report of an investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General confirms that the Pentagon dropped the ball in responding to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. troops to a deadly chemical in Iraq. Those failures left some exposed soldiers unaware that they had been exposed to the deadly chemical and without follow up health monitoring and treatment. Monitoring tests performed on other soldiers who were informed of their exposure were so inadequate that the agency that performed them now admits they have a “low level of confidence” in those tests.
A second and more detailed Inspector General’s report, originally scheduled to be released this month, has now been moved back to the end of the year, a development Dorgan said he finds “disappointing.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee and Dorgan requested IG investigations after he chaired hearings by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC), in June 2008 and August 2009. The hearings revealed that troops from Indiana, Oregon, South Carolina, and West Virginia were exposed to sodium dichromate, a known and highly potent carcinogen at the Qarmat Ali water treatment facility in Iraq. The DPC hearings revealed multiple failures by the contractor, KBR, and the Army’s failure to adequately monitor, test, and notify soldiers who may have been exposed of the health risks they may now face.
The IG is releasing two reports on its investigation, The first report was released in September. The second, expected to be a more detailed response to specific DPC concerns, was originally slated for release by late October. But the Department of Defense Inspector General now states a draft of that report won’t be available until the end of the year.
The first report provides no indication -- seven years after the exposure – that the Army ever notified seven soldiers from the Army’s Third Infantry Division who secured the Qarmat Ali facility during hostilities that they had been exposed. It also confirms that the Army’s assessment of the health risks associated with exposure to sodium dichromate for soldiers at Qarmat Ali are not very reliable. In fact, the organization that performed these assessments, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine (CHPPM), now says it has a “low level of confidence” in its test results for the overwhelming majority of those exposed.
Equally troubling, Dorgan said, is the report’s finding that the Department of Defense is refusing to provide information to Congress about the incident, because of a lawsuit to which it is not a party.
“I am very concerned about the findings we now have, and I am disappointed in the delayed release of Part II of this report. The IG’s investigation and its findings are very important to the lives of U.S. soldiers and workers who were at the site. Details and definitive findings will help us ensure accountability for this exposure and flawed follow up, but even more importantly, they will help ensure that all exposed soldiers receive appropriate notice and medical attention,” Dorgan said.
Friday CONTACT: Barry E. Piatt
October 22, 2010 PHONE: 202-224-0577
Follow up report is delayed:
DORGAN: DOD IG REPORT CONFIRMS PENTAGON DROPPED THE BALL ON CHEMICAL EXPOSURE OF U.S. TROOPS IN IRAQ
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said Friday a preliminary report of an investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General confirms that the Pentagon dropped the ball in responding to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. troops to a deadly chemical in Iraq. Those failures left some exposed soldiers unaware that they had been exposed to the deadly chemical and without follow up health monitoring and treatment. Monitoring tests performed on other soldiers who were informed of their exposure were so inadequate that the agency that performed them now admits they have a “low level of confidence” in those tests.
A second and more detailed Inspector General’s report, originally scheduled to be released this month, has now been moved back to the end of the year, a development Dorgan said he finds “disappointing.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee and Dorgan requested IG investigations after he chaired hearings by the Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC), in June 2008 and August 2009. The hearings revealed that troops from Indiana, Oregon, South Carolina, and West Virginia were exposed to sodium dichromate, a known and highly potent carcinogen at the Qarmat Ali water treatment facility in Iraq. The DPC hearings revealed multiple failures by the contractor, KBR, and the Army’s failure to adequately monitor, test, and notify soldiers who may have been exposed of the health risks they may now face.
The IG is releasing two reports on its investigation, The first report was released in September. The second, expected to be a more detailed response to specific DPC concerns, was originally slated for release by late October. But the Department of Defense Inspector General now states a draft of that report won’t be available until the end of the year.
The first report provides no indication -- seven years after the exposure – that the Army ever notified seven soldiers from the Army’s Third Infantry Division who secured the Qarmat Ali facility during hostilities that they had been exposed. It also confirms that the Army’s assessment of the health risks associated with exposure to sodium dichromate for soldiers at Qarmat Ali are not very reliable. In fact, the organization that performed these assessments, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine (CHPPM), now says it has a “low level of confidence” in its test results for the overwhelming majority of those exposed.
Equally troubling, Dorgan said, is the report’s finding that the Department of Defense is refusing to provide information to Congress about the incident, because of a lawsuit to which it is not a party.
“I am very concerned about the findings we now have, and I am disappointed in the delayed release of Part II of this report. The IG’s investigation and its findings are very important to the lives of U.S. soldiers and workers who were at the site. Details and definitive findings will help us ensure accountability for this exposure and flawed follow up, but even more importantly, they will help ensure that all exposed soldiers receive appropriate notice and medical attention,” Dorgan said.
As a death notification team "It wasn't supposed to be like this."
It wasn't supposed to be like this
Posted 10/18/2010
Commentary by Lt. Col. Jonathan Tamblyn
54th Air Refueling Squadron commander
10/18/2010 - ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) -- After parking the Air Force staff car beside the yard, the chaplain, the nurse and I got out of the car and took a moment to look over each other's service dress. We had been steeling ourselves for this moment most of the afternoon.
As a death notification team, it was our job to inform a newly bereaved father about the tragic death of his Air Force son.
In a very rare Air Force Personnel Center decision, the signed letter I would read to the father stated the suspected cause of death was suicide.
Many of you can't read the word "suicide" without feeling the pangs of a tragic loss you have already experienced in your life due to someone else's decision to prematurely end his or her own life. Although the pain of suicide is staggering, the risk of suicide may be more pervasive than previously thought.
In a 2008 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, it was found that "nearly 8.3 million adults (age 18 and older) in the U.S. had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year."
The study also showed that 2.3 million adult Americans made a suicide plan within the past year and that 1.1 million adults actually attempted suicide within the past year."
Hidden within these staggering statistics, you find too many servicemembers who have also been suicidal.
Lately, military suicides have been on the rise.
The Houston Chronicle did an analysis and found suicides of "Texans younger than 35 who served in the military jumped from 47 in 2006 to 66 in 2009 -- an increase of 40 percent."
As sobering as the statistics can be, there are some things we can do to help reduce the risk of losing an Airman, coworker, friend or family member to suicide.
read more here
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123226803
Posted 10/18/2010
Commentary by Lt. Col. Jonathan Tamblyn
54th Air Refueling Squadron commander
10/18/2010 - ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) -- After parking the Air Force staff car beside the yard, the chaplain, the nurse and I got out of the car and took a moment to look over each other's service dress. We had been steeling ourselves for this moment most of the afternoon.
As a death notification team, it was our job to inform a newly bereaved father about the tragic death of his Air Force son.
In a very rare Air Force Personnel Center decision, the signed letter I would read to the father stated the suspected cause of death was suicide.
Many of you can't read the word "suicide" without feeling the pangs of a tragic loss you have already experienced in your life due to someone else's decision to prematurely end his or her own life. Although the pain of suicide is staggering, the risk of suicide may be more pervasive than previously thought.
In a 2008 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, it was found that "nearly 8.3 million adults (age 18 and older) in the U.S. had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year."
The study also showed that 2.3 million adult Americans made a suicide plan within the past year and that 1.1 million adults actually attempted suicide within the past year."
Hidden within these staggering statistics, you find too many servicemembers who have also been suicidal.
Lately, military suicides have been on the rise.
The Houston Chronicle did an analysis and found suicides of "Texans younger than 35 who served in the military jumped from 47 in 2006 to 66 in 2009 -- an increase of 40 percent."
As sobering as the statistics can be, there are some things we can do to help reduce the risk of losing an Airman, coworker, friend or family member to suicide.
read more here
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123226803
Kentucky family sues over shooting death at Fort Bliss
Ky. family sues over shooting death at Fort Bliss
By BRETT BARROUQUERE Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press
Oct. 20, 2010, 4:10PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The family of a teenager killed during a shooting at a post in Texas is suing the U.S. government for $8.75 million, claiming the military was negligent in diagnosing and treating the alleged shooter.
Renee Richardson of Louisville, whose 18-year-old son, Ezra Gerald Smith, died in the April 24, 2009 shootings at Fort Bliss in Texas, claims the U.S. Army missed multiple warning signs that Spc. Gerald Polanco was suffering from numerous psychiatric disorders, including post traumatic stress disorder.
"This could have been prevented and that's what she's mad about," attorney Sheila Hiestand said of her client.
Richardson filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Louisville.
Polanco was charged with murder, but ruled incompetent to stand trial by a military judge a few months later. Polanco's current condition was not immediately available. His attorney, John Convery of San Antonio, Texas, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Army Maj. Myles Caggins III, a spokesman for Fort Bliss, told The Associated Press that Polanco's court martial proceedings are ongoing and declined to comment.
"Our heart goes out to the family of Gerald Smith," Caggins said. "We are committed to fair and thorough legal proceedings in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
In letters to Smith's family, the military denied liability for the shooting, saying Polanco's actions could not have been foreseen.
Smith was at Fort Bliss, where his stepfather was based at the time of the shooting.
read more here
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7256084.html
By BRETT BARROUQUERE Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press
Oct. 20, 2010, 4:10PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The family of a teenager killed during a shooting at a post in Texas is suing the U.S. government for $8.75 million, claiming the military was negligent in diagnosing and treating the alleged shooter.
Renee Richardson of Louisville, whose 18-year-old son, Ezra Gerald Smith, died in the April 24, 2009 shootings at Fort Bliss in Texas, claims the U.S. Army missed multiple warning signs that Spc. Gerald Polanco was suffering from numerous psychiatric disorders, including post traumatic stress disorder.
"This could have been prevented and that's what she's mad about," attorney Sheila Hiestand said of her client.
Richardson filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Louisville.
Polanco was charged with murder, but ruled incompetent to stand trial by a military judge a few months later. Polanco's current condition was not immediately available. His attorney, John Convery of San Antonio, Texas, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Army Maj. Myles Caggins III, a spokesman for Fort Bliss, told The Associated Press that Polanco's court martial proceedings are ongoing and declined to comment.
"Our heart goes out to the family of Gerald Smith," Caggins said. "We are committed to fair and thorough legal proceedings in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
In letters to Smith's family, the military denied liability for the shooting, saying Polanco's actions could not have been foreseen.
Smith was at Fort Bliss, where his stepfather was based at the time of the shooting.
read more here
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7256084.html
Huron police searching for missing Iraq War veteran
Huron police searching for missing Iraq War veteran
Published: Thursday, October 21, 2010
By JAMILA T. WILLIAMS
jwilliams@MorningJournal.com
HURON — A 21-year-old Iraq War veteran is still missing and divers searched the Huron River yesterday but didn’t find anything, Huron police Chief John Majoy said.
Nathan Dickey was reported missing after he did not return home Sunday evening following a night out with friends, according to the Huron Police Department.
go here for more
Huron police searching for missing Iraq War veteran
Friends of missing Iraq war veteran wait, hope, pray
HEATHER CHAPIN-FOWLER
It’s a grueling wait for Nathan Dickey’s family and friends as they look to police to solve the Iraq war veteran’s mysterious disappearance.
Dickey’s friends gathered Wednesday evening outside the Brass Pelican near the Huron River, where earlier this week the missing man’s shoe was found in the river.
“He’s an excellent guy,” said Casey Gonzalez, Dickey’s friend from Columbus. “We’re all a tight bunch and we’re just waiting, hoping for the best.”
Gonzalez recalled the last time he saw Dickey — just weeks ago at Cedar Point — and he’s hoping it’s not the last time he’d see his friend alive.
Dickey’s friends reported him missing Sunday evening after a night of drinking at i5’s Bar and Grill in downtown Huron. Dickey was with the group Saturday night, but at 2 a.m. Sunday he wandered off into the early morning darkness.
He was drunk and upset about problems within the group, a police report said.
It’s the last time anyone saw him alive.
read more of this here
Friends of missing Iraq war veteran wait
Published: Thursday, October 21, 2010
By JAMILA T. WILLIAMS
jwilliams@MorningJournal.com
HURON — A 21-year-old Iraq War veteran is still missing and divers searched the Huron River yesterday but didn’t find anything, Huron police Chief John Majoy said.
Nathan Dickey was reported missing after he did not return home Sunday evening following a night out with friends, according to the Huron Police Department.
go here for more
Huron police searching for missing Iraq War veteran
Friends of missing Iraq war veteran wait, hope, pray
HEATHER CHAPIN-FOWLER
It’s a grueling wait for Nathan Dickey’s family and friends as they look to police to solve the Iraq war veteran’s mysterious disappearance.
Dickey’s friends gathered Wednesday evening outside the Brass Pelican near the Huron River, where earlier this week the missing man’s shoe was found in the river.
“He’s an excellent guy,” said Casey Gonzalez, Dickey’s friend from Columbus. “We’re all a tight bunch and we’re just waiting, hoping for the best.”
Gonzalez recalled the last time he saw Dickey — just weeks ago at Cedar Point — and he’s hoping it’s not the last time he’d see his friend alive.
Dickey’s friends reported him missing Sunday evening after a night of drinking at i5’s Bar and Grill in downtown Huron. Dickey was with the group Saturday night, but at 2 a.m. Sunday he wandered off into the early morning darkness.
He was drunk and upset about problems within the group, a police report said.
It’s the last time anyone saw him alive.
read more of this here
Friends of missing Iraq war veteran wait
Veteran Guards Christian Flag At City's Memorial
Since this is a memorial, there should be no problem with the "Christian" flag flying at all. There doesn't seem to be any rule about preventing other faiths from flying a flag there too so there should really be no problem. What's next? Removing the headstones with crosses on them from cemeteries?
Veteran Guards Christian Flag At City's Memorial
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 21, 2010
The Christian flag is everywhere in the small city of King, N.C.: flying in front of barbecue joints and hair salons, stuck to the bumpers of trucks, hanging in windows and emblazoned on T-shirts.
The relatively obscure emblem has become omnipresent because of one place it can't appear: flying above a war memorial in a public park.
The city council decided last month to remove the flag from above the monument in Central Park after a resident complained, and after city leaders got letters from the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State urging them to remove it.
That decision incensed veterans groups, churches and others in King, a city of about 6,000 people 15 miles north of Winston-Salem. Ray Martini, 63, an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, launched a round-the-clock vigil to guard a replica Christian flag hanging on a wooden pole in front of the war memorial.
Since Sept. 22, the vigil has been bolstered by home-cooked food delivered by supporters, sleeping bags and blankets donated by a West Virginia man and offers of support from New York to Louisiana.
read more here
Veteran Guards Christian Flag
Lynn Hey/AP
Ray Martini, an Air Force veteran, stands beside a Christian flag flying in front of the Veterans Memorial at Central Park in King, N.C., on Saturday. Martini launched a round-the-clock vigil to guard the new flag after it was taken down because of complaints.
Veteran Guards Christian Flag At City's Memorial
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 21, 2010
The Christian flag is everywhere in the small city of King, N.C.: flying in front of barbecue joints and hair salons, stuck to the bumpers of trucks, hanging in windows and emblazoned on T-shirts.
The relatively obscure emblem has become omnipresent because of one place it can't appear: flying above a war memorial in a public park.
The city council decided last month to remove the flag from above the monument in Central Park after a resident complained, and after city leaders got letters from the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State urging them to remove it.
That decision incensed veterans groups, churches and others in King, a city of about 6,000 people 15 miles north of Winston-Salem. Ray Martini, 63, an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, launched a round-the-clock vigil to guard a replica Christian flag hanging on a wooden pole in front of the war memorial.
Since Sept. 22, the vigil has been bolstered by home-cooked food delivered by supporters, sleeping bags and blankets donated by a West Virginia man and offers of support from New York to Louisiana.
read more here
Veteran Guards Christian Flag
Faith healing or foul play on cliff
Faith healing or foul play on cliff?
By Ryan Sabalow
Posted October 21, 2010
Rather than call police when their drinking partner fell — or was pushed — off a nearly 200-foot cliff, two students at a Redding Bible school tried first to reach the severely wounded man and pray him back to life, a lawsuit alleges.
In a lawsuit filed this month in Shasta County Superior Court exactly two years to the day after he was pulled by search-and-rescue crews from the banks of the Sacramento River, Jason Michael Carlsen alleges that when Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry students Sarah Elisabeth Koivumaki and Zachary Gudelunas couldn’t reach him to heal him with their prayers, they spent hours debating whether to call the police.
Bethel’s members purport to have the ability to heal people through prayer and bring the dead back to life.
The two later told police they thought Carlsen was killed in the fall.
Worried that they would be exiled from the church, the two Bethel students also went so far as to try to cover up evidence they’d even been at the top of the cliff, the lawsuit alleges.
read more here
Faith healing or foul play on cliff
By Ryan Sabalow
Posted October 21, 2010
Rather than call police when their drinking partner fell — or was pushed — off a nearly 200-foot cliff, two students at a Redding Bible school tried first to reach the severely wounded man and pray him back to life, a lawsuit alleges.
In a lawsuit filed this month in Shasta County Superior Court exactly two years to the day after he was pulled by search-and-rescue crews from the banks of the Sacramento River, Jason Michael Carlsen alleges that when Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry students Sarah Elisabeth Koivumaki and Zachary Gudelunas couldn’t reach him to heal him with their prayers, they spent hours debating whether to call the police.
Bethel’s members purport to have the ability to heal people through prayer and bring the dead back to life.
The two later told police they thought Carlsen was killed in the fall.
Worried that they would be exiled from the church, the two Bethel students also went so far as to try to cover up evidence they’d even been at the top of the cliff, the lawsuit alleges.
read more here
Faith healing or foul play on cliff
Feds: Mentally Ill Targeted in $200M Medicare Fraud in Florida
There is an ad here in Florida attacking Grayson and Kosmos along with Nancy Pelosi. The problem with the ad is that while it is true they were part of the millions cut from Medicare, it was against waste, fraud and abuse, just as this report how bad the problem is. No one lost benefits and tax payers were well served by going after this kind of fraud. Whoever is behind the ad, just doesn't care about the elderly or the tax payers when they use an ad doing good but paint it as bad for attempted political gain.
This kind of thing happens way too often and it needs to be stopped for the sake of everyone.
This kind of thing happens way too often and it needs to be stopped for the sake of everyone.
Feds: Mentally Ill Targeted in $200M Medicare Fraud
Hugh Collins
Contributor
(Oct. 21 ) -- Two Miami health care companies and four owners and senior managers were indicted today in a $200 million fraud scheme that targeted mentally ill patients, federal authorities said.
American Therapeutic Corp. and Medlink Professional Management Group allegedly paid kickbacks to Florida assisted-living facilities to deliver their patients to ATC.
The companies would then bill Medicare therapy sessions that were unnecessary or never performed at all, the indictment said.
Agents with the FBI and Investigations Division of the Office of the Inspector General are seen outside the American Therapeutic Corp. building on Thursday in Miami. Federal agents raided the building during an operation that resulted in the arrest of four in what is being called one of the nation's biggest Medicare fraud cases.
Some of these patients were suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia, and were not aware of what was going on.
go here for more
Feds: Mentally Ill Targeted in $200M Medicare Fraud
Feds: Mentally Ill Targeted in $200M Medicare Fraud
60 Minutes shines light on local homeless Marine vet
60 Minutes shines light on local homeless Marine vet
BY JEANETTE STEELE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010 AT 8:02 P.M.
What a difference three months made in the life of former enlisted Marine Charles Worley.
In July, Worley was one of a handful of young veterans living on the streets of San Diego . Worley, then 31, had been bouncing among friends’ couches after he lost his job and unemployment ran out.
To get a break from that routine, he showed up at the annual three-day Stand Down for the Homeless event held by Veterans Village of San Diego at San Diego High School.
That’s where the cameras of 60 Minutes discovered him. Worley was prominently profiled in a report aired Sunday night. He was also featured in this story in the San Diego Union-Tribune on July 16.
The 60 Minutes piece leaves off with the viewer wondering about Worley’s destiny.
60 Minutes shines light on local homeless Marine vet
BY JEANETTE STEELE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010 AT 8:02 P.M.
What a difference three months made in the life of former enlisted Marine Charles Worley.
In July, Worley was one of a handful of young veterans living on the streets of San Diego . Worley, then 31, had been bouncing among friends’ couches after he lost his job and unemployment ran out.
To get a break from that routine, he showed up at the annual three-day Stand Down for the Homeless event held by Veterans Village of San Diego at San Diego High School.
That’s where the cameras of 60 Minutes discovered him. Worley was prominently profiled in a report aired Sunday night. He was also featured in this story in the San Diego Union-Tribune on July 16.
The 60 Minutes piece leaves off with the viewer wondering about Worley’s destiny.
60 Minutes shines light on local homeless Marine vet
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Vet who attempted suicide facing sentencing?
‘I’m scared’
Local Army vet, struggling with PTSD, worried over upcoming sentencing for incident following suicidal episode
By WARREN HOWELER
Times Editor
Published:
Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:10 AM EDT
SAYRE — Rebecca Amey has two significant scars on her body.
One is on her left shoulder, the reminder that she survived an IED explosion while serving in Iraq as a U.S. Army intelligence analyst back in 2005-2006.
The other is on her left wrist — leftover from when her nightmares and flashbacks triggered a suicide attempt this summer.
Amey suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. She is currently on five medications to combat her anxiety, lingering pain from her injury and to help her sleep without the nightmares of that incident flowing back into her mind.
Dealing with the PTSD is a daily struggle for the 24-year-old mother of two. But it was the aftermath of her recent suicide attempt that may have lasting repercussions on her life and her family’s.
It was on July 23 when Amey left her house and attempted to commit suicide following her most recent flashbacks and nightmares. However, in her haste, Amey left her 3-year-old son Tristan and her 10-month-old son Andrew home — alone.
read more here
Local Army vet, struggling with PTSD
Local Army vet, struggling with PTSD, worried over upcoming sentencing for incident following suicidal episode
By WARREN HOWELER
Times Editor
Published:
Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:10 AM EDT
SAYRE — Rebecca Amey has two significant scars on her body.
One is on her left shoulder, the reminder that she survived an IED explosion while serving in Iraq as a U.S. Army intelligence analyst back in 2005-2006.
The other is on her left wrist — leftover from when her nightmares and flashbacks triggered a suicide attempt this summer.
Amey suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. She is currently on five medications to combat her anxiety, lingering pain from her injury and to help her sleep without the nightmares of that incident flowing back into her mind.
Dealing with the PTSD is a daily struggle for the 24-year-old mother of two. But it was the aftermath of her recent suicide attempt that may have lasting repercussions on her life and her family’s.
It was on July 23 when Amey left her house and attempted to commit suicide following her most recent flashbacks and nightmares. However, in her haste, Amey left her 3-year-old son Tristan and her 10-month-old son Andrew home — alone.
read more here
Local Army vet, struggling with PTSD
600 people met the eight Westboro pickets at Gonzaga University
October 21, 2010 in City
Ferris to release students early as protesters gather
The Spokesman-Review
Ferris High School officials have decided to release students at 1:45 today as hundreds of protestors gather nearby to demonstrate against a planned appearance by pickets from Westboro Baptist Church.
Hundreds of people have turned out at each of the stops scheduled by the radical group to counter its message of hate and intolerance.
An estimated 600 people met the eight Westboro pickets at Gonzaga University, with another 200 to 300 at both the Moody Bible Institute and Whitworth University. Currently, about 200 people are gathering near Ferris High School.
read more here
Ferris to release students early
Ferris to release students early as protesters gather
The Spokesman-Review
Ferris High School officials have decided to release students at 1:45 today as hundreds of protestors gather nearby to demonstrate against a planned appearance by pickets from Westboro Baptist Church.
Hundreds of people have turned out at each of the stops scheduled by the radical group to counter its message of hate and intolerance.
An estimated 600 people met the eight Westboro pickets at Gonzaga University, with another 200 to 300 at both the Moody Bible Institute and Whitworth University. Currently, about 200 people are gathering near Ferris High School.
read more here
Ferris to release students early
Iraq contractor seeks appeal from Oregon veterans
Iraq contractor seeks appeal from Oregon veterans
PORTLAND, Ore. — A Texas-based military contractor is seeking an appeal before trial begins in a lawsuit filed by Oregon veterans who claim they were exposed to a toxic chemical in Iraq. Attorneys for Kellogg, Brown and Root claim that suing a military contractor raises “unprecedented” legal questions that first should be decided by a higher court. Other federal judges have ruled in KBR’s favor in lawsuits in Indiana and West Virginia, saying their courts lack jurisdiction. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Papak in Portland told attorneys Wednesday to prepare for trial while he considers the KBR request to have the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals review his rulings. Oregon Army National Guard veterans sued KBR last year, claiming the company downplayed or disregarded their exposure to hexavalent chromium in Iraq.
Iraq contractor seeks appeal from Oregon veterans
PORTLAND, Ore. — A Texas-based military contractor is seeking an appeal before trial begins in a lawsuit filed by Oregon veterans who claim they were exposed to a toxic chemical in Iraq. Attorneys for Kellogg, Brown and Root claim that suing a military contractor raises “unprecedented” legal questions that first should be decided by a higher court. Other federal judges have ruled in KBR’s favor in lawsuits in Indiana and West Virginia, saying their courts lack jurisdiction. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Papak in Portland told attorneys Wednesday to prepare for trial while he considers the KBR request to have the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals review his rulings. Oregon Army National Guard veterans sued KBR last year, claiming the company downplayed or disregarded their exposure to hexavalent chromium in Iraq.
Iraq contractor seeks appeal from Oregon veterans
Facebook behind Vietnam Vet finding daughter after 39 years
Danielle Petratos holds a photo of her and her father 42 years ago. (Photo/Mona Rivera/1010 WINS)
Dad, Daughter Reunite Via Facebook After 39 Years
October 21, 2010 2:31 PM
Reporting Mike Xirinachs
MANHASSET, NY (WCBS 880/ 1010 WINS) – All her life, the only thing Danielle Petratos had of her father was a single photograph.
read more here
Dad Daughter Reunite Via Facebook After 39 Years
Marine Charged With Killing Friend
Marine Charged With Killing Friend During Drunken Brawl
“We have two families each who has lost a son," said Miami-Dade police
By JEFF BURNSIDE
Kevin Toledo, a Miami-Dade College student studying nursing and working as a security guard, was considering joining the military.
Wednesday night, his stunned friends and family mourned his death by gathering in the darkness outside his family's home in Little Havana, calling him "a good man" and "a brother." Tears were everywhere. His friend Ken Shika is now charged with first degree murder in his death. Police say they got into a drunken brawl. Shika, a Marine Reserve Sergeant who did two tours in Iraq, shot his friend in the back, according to police.
"This is, in fact, a tragedy all the way around,” says Roy Rutland, spokesperson for the usually tight-lipped Miami-Dade police. “We have two families each who has lost a son. And we have lost an American soldier who is now being charged with first degree murder and is looking at spending the rest of his life in prison.”
read more here
Marine Charged With Killing Friend During Drunken Brawl
“We have two families each who has lost a son," said Miami-Dade police
By JEFF BURNSIDE
Kevin Toledo, a Miami-Dade College student studying nursing and working as a security guard, was considering joining the military.
Wednesday night, his stunned friends and family mourned his death by gathering in the darkness outside his family's home in Little Havana, calling him "a good man" and "a brother." Tears were everywhere. His friend Ken Shika is now charged with first degree murder in his death. Police say they got into a drunken brawl. Shika, a Marine Reserve Sergeant who did two tours in Iraq, shot his friend in the back, according to police.
"This is, in fact, a tragedy all the way around,” says Roy Rutland, spokesperson for the usually tight-lipped Miami-Dade police. “We have two families each who has lost a son. And we have lost an American soldier who is now being charged with first degree murder and is looking at spending the rest of his life in prison.”
read more here
Marine Charged With Killing Friend During Drunken Brawl
Should pictures of bodies be published?
There was a great debate about media covering the return of flag draped caskets coming home. In the end after the ban was lifted, it was left up to the family members if the media would be allowed to cover the return or not and how much they would cover.
The same rule needs to be applied here as well. It shouldn't matter if you can see the face of the fallen or not. It should be up to the family if they want the picture shown.
This is a heartbreaking picture of a group of Marines standing by the body of one of their brothers. A tenderness we do not get to see showing that this Marine's life mattered. Maybe we need to be reminded of what they are going through, that war is real and they die, they get wounded and for far too many they cannot escape the carnage even though they leave the country. It comes back with them as they try to get back into society where things like they see are not supposed to happen. They come back to oblivious communities so out of touch with what they are going through, most of them have no idea how many died. They were not reminded of what was happening in Iraq or Afghanistan, so they forget all about them as they deal with their own problems. Maybe they need to be reminded but just as the public has a right to know, the families have a right to be private if that is what they want. We may honor the life gone for our sake but they did not belong to us. They belonged to the families who prayed for them everyday, missed them, worried about them but above all, will be the people visiting their graves instead of holding them in their arms. Let them decide.
Go here for the picture and to read more. I decided to remove the picture.
The same rule needs to be applied here as well. It shouldn't matter if you can see the face of the fallen or not. It should be up to the family if they want the picture shown.
This is a heartbreaking picture of a group of Marines standing by the body of one of their brothers. A tenderness we do not get to see showing that this Marine's life mattered. Maybe we need to be reminded of what they are going through, that war is real and they die, they get wounded and for far too many they cannot escape the carnage even though they leave the country. It comes back with them as they try to get back into society where things like they see are not supposed to happen. They come back to oblivious communities so out of touch with what they are going through, most of them have no idea how many died. They were not reminded of what was happening in Iraq or Afghanistan, so they forget all about them as they deal with their own problems. Maybe they need to be reminded but just as the public has a right to know, the families have a right to be private if that is what they want. We may honor the life gone for our sake but they did not belong to us. They belonged to the families who prayed for them everyday, missed them, worried about them but above all, will be the people visiting their graves instead of holding them in their arms. Let them decide.
Go here for the picture and to read more. I decided to remove the picture.
Two views of photo of a fallen Marine
October 20, 2010
The photo on Wednesday’s front page of Marines in Afghanistan waiting with the body of a fallen battalion member drew strong, and opposing, responses from readers. Cpl. Jorge Villarreal, who was based at Camp Pendleton, was killed by an improvised bomb while on patrol. In the photo, above, three fellow Marines await a helicopter that will evacuate Villarreal's body.
read more here
Two views of photo of a fallen Marine
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Discharged gay troops try to re-enlist
Imagine serving your country, being willing to die for it, then be told that your service is not wanted because you are gay. Then imagine most of the other countries in NATO have no problem with gays serving in the military. Then think that even though you wanted to serve despite all of this, you were kicked out anyway. Well if that wasn't enough to turn these men and women against the military, some of them are showing exactly how much they do care by enlisting back into the military that tossed them out for being what they are. Says a lot about the kind of people the military has been getting rid of instead of appreciate.
Discharged gay troops try to re-enlist
By Anne Flaherty and Julie Watson - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 20, 2010 8:18:43 EDT
SAN DIEGO — At least three service members discharged for being gay have begun the process to re-enlist after the Pentagon directed the military to accept openly gay recruits for the first time in the nation's history.
The top-level guidance issued to recruiting commands Tuesday marked a significant change in an institution long resistant and sometimes hostile to gays.
"Gay people have been fighting for equality in the military since the 1960s," said Aaron Belkin, executive director of the Palm Center, a think tank on gays and the military at the University of California Santa Barbara. "It took a lot to get to this day."
read more here
Discharged gay troops try to re enlist
LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan
LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan
Associated Press
10/20/10 10:05 AM EDT
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles police officer serving in Afghanistan has been killed by a roadside bomb.
Marine Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins died Monday.
The 28-year-old reservist was an explosive ordinance disposal officer.
Read more at the Washington Examiner:
LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan
Associated Press
10/20/10 10:05 AM EDT
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles police officer serving in Afghanistan has been killed by a roadside bomb.
Marine Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins died Monday.
The 28-year-old reservist was an explosive ordinance disposal officer.
Read more at the Washington Examiner:
LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan
Drop FOX
I feel for my friends who still watch FOX. They are bright people and they care about this country as much as I do but they remain uninformed because they watch FOX. Now it looks as if Beck is behind employees being a target by a deluded thug who credits Beck with inspiring him.
Still the biggest issue I have with FOX is that they show no care for the troops or our veterans. If they cared at all, they would take the lead and report on what has been happening since they were deployed into Afghanistan and Iraq. They would take the lead on finding programs and support for PTSD and TBI research, suicide prevention and holding the military leadership accountable for the rise in suicides and attempted suicides. There is so much they can do because of the viewers they have but they refuse to. I refuse to watch FOX.
From Media Matters
Still the biggest issue I have with FOX is that they show no care for the troops or our veterans. If they cared at all, they would take the lead and report on what has been happening since they were deployed into Afghanistan and Iraq. They would take the lead on finding programs and support for PTSD and TBI research, suicide prevention and holding the military leadership accountable for the rise in suicides and attempted suicides. There is so much they can do because of the viewers they have but they refuse to. I refuse to watch FOX.
From Media Matters
What has Glenn Beck's response been to the revelation that his false and paranoid attacks on the Tides Foundation inspired viewer Byron Williams to target Tides employees for death?
Doubling down.
Beck dedicated his Friday night Fox News show to yet another extended attack on the Tides Foundation, accusing the progressive institution of subverting churches, turning children against their parents and spreading "anti-human" theories.
A week ago we told you the story of Williams, who was incited by the conspiracy theories of right-wing media figures to try and assassinate employees of the progressive Tides Foundation and the ACLU. The same lies and smears that Williams said "blew my mind" go on every day at Fox.
Instead of recognizing the danger and taking appropriate action, Fox News is allowing and encouraging Beck's violent rhetoric, abdicating the responsibility the public expects of a powerful broadcaster. That is why targeting Glenn Beck's advertisers is no longer enough -- we need to hold the entire network accountable.
read more here
Tell major advertisers it's time to drop Fox.
James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital "conditions are horrible" says wounded soldier's stepfather
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Surgery keeps Kent in Tampa, out of D.C.
BY DENES HUSTY III • DHUSTY@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 20, 2010
A wounded Cape Coral soldier can’t be transferred immediately from a Tampa veterans’ hospital, where his family describes conditions as “deplorable” because he had surgery there Tuesday.
The procedure to remove Army Pfc. Corey Kent’s infected gallbladder was successful, said his stepfather, Dan Ashby.
Kent asked to be transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington three weeks ago to be nearer his family, Ashby said.
Now Kent, 22, “cannot wait to get out of there. He’s regressed. The conditions are horrible. The place is dirty” and he wants to go back to Walter Reed, said Ashby, 40.
However, he said Kent can’t be transferred until at least late next week because of his recuperation and the arranging of a military flight, Ashby said.
read more here
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Surgery keeps Kent in Tampa, out of D.C.
BY DENES HUSTY III • DHUSTY@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 20, 2010
A wounded Cape Coral soldier can’t be transferred immediately from a Tampa veterans’ hospital, where his family describes conditions as “deplorable” because he had surgery there Tuesday.
The procedure to remove Army Pfc. Corey Kent’s infected gallbladder was successful, said his stepfather, Dan Ashby.
Kent asked to be transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington three weeks ago to be nearer his family, Ashby said.
Now Kent, 22, “cannot wait to get out of there. He’s regressed. The conditions are horrible. The place is dirty” and he wants to go back to Walter Reed, said Ashby, 40.
However, he said Kent can’t be transferred until at least late next week because of his recuperation and the arranging of a military flight, Ashby said.
read more here
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
54 Regional Veterans Day Observances
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Designates
54 Regional Veterans Day Observances
WASHINGTON - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced
today the designation of 54 regional Veterans Day observances. These
sites are recognized as model events for the observance of Veterans Day
on November 11.
"On Veterans Day we celebrate the lives and legacy of America's 23
million living Veterans," said Shinseki. "From the National Veterans
Day observance to regional celebrations nationwide, I encourage all
Americans to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our Veterans
for their service."
Shinseki is Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee, which is
comprised of representatives from 41 organizations dedicated to serving
and supporting America's Veterans. Founded in 1954, the committee's
mission is to promote the observance of Veterans Day nationwide. Each
year, the committee recognizes regional observances - including parades,
ceremonies and concerts - that are dedicated to celebrating and honoring
America's Veterans of all eras.
The 2010 Veterans Day Regional Sites are:
Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery, Ala.;
Phoenix, Ariz.;
Palm Springs and Sacramento, Calif.;
Loveland, Colo.;
Hartford, Conn.;
New Castle, Del.;
Brevard Community College-Coco Campus, and Weirsdale, Fla.;
Atlanta and Dawson County, Ga.;
Emporia, Leavenworth and Valley Center, Kan.;
Bossier-Shreveport,
Bossier City and Slidell, La.;
Brunswick, Md.;
Sherborn, Mass.;
Detroit, Farmington Hills, Mason, and Lansing, Mich.;
Inver Grove Heights, Minn.,
Biloxi and Kosciusko, Miss.;
St. Louis, Mo.;
Northfield, N.J.;
New York, N.Y.;
Charlotte, Fayetteville, Morehead City and Warsaw, N.C.;
Columbus and North Olmsted, Ohio;
Ponca City, Okla.;
Albany and Portland, Ore.;
Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Penn.;
North Charleston, S.C.;
Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tenn.;
Austin, Bonham, Dallas and Houston,
Texas; Virginia Beach, Va.;
Auburn, Port Angeles, Vancouver and West
Richland, Wash.;
and Milwaukee, Wis.
For more information about the Veterans Day regional site program,
including an application for the 2011 observance, log onto the Veterans
Day Web site at http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/regsites.asp.
54 Regional Veterans Day Observances
WASHINGTON - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced
today the designation of 54 regional Veterans Day observances. These
sites are recognized as model events for the observance of Veterans Day
on November 11.
"On Veterans Day we celebrate the lives and legacy of America's 23
million living Veterans," said Shinseki. "From the National Veterans
Day observance to regional celebrations nationwide, I encourage all
Americans to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our Veterans
for their service."
Shinseki is Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee, which is
comprised of representatives from 41 organizations dedicated to serving
and supporting America's Veterans. Founded in 1954, the committee's
mission is to promote the observance of Veterans Day nationwide. Each
year, the committee recognizes regional observances - including parades,
ceremonies and concerts - that are dedicated to celebrating and honoring
America's Veterans of all eras.
The 2010 Veterans Day Regional Sites are:
Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery, Ala.;
Phoenix, Ariz.;
Palm Springs and Sacramento, Calif.;
Loveland, Colo.;
Hartford, Conn.;
New Castle, Del.;
Brevard Community College-Coco Campus, and Weirsdale, Fla.;
Atlanta and Dawson County, Ga.;
Emporia, Leavenworth and Valley Center, Kan.;
Bossier-Shreveport,
Bossier City and Slidell, La.;
Brunswick, Md.;
Sherborn, Mass.;
Detroit, Farmington Hills, Mason, and Lansing, Mich.;
Inver Grove Heights, Minn.,
Biloxi and Kosciusko, Miss.;
St. Louis, Mo.;
Northfield, N.J.;
New York, N.Y.;
Charlotte, Fayetteville, Morehead City and Warsaw, N.C.;
Columbus and North Olmsted, Ohio;
Ponca City, Okla.;
Albany and Portland, Ore.;
Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Penn.;
North Charleston, S.C.;
Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tenn.;
Austin, Bonham, Dallas and Houston,
Texas; Virginia Beach, Va.;
Auburn, Port Angeles, Vancouver and West
Richland, Wash.;
and Milwaukee, Wis.
For more information about the Veterans Day regional site program,
including an application for the 2011 observance, log onto the Veterans
Day Web site at http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/regsites.asp.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet
PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 13:28:36 EDT
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — The post-traumatic stress disorder defense being raised by an Iraq war veteran will likely postpone his double-murder trial to sometime after the second anniversary of the sandwich shop robbery at the center of the case.
read more here
PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 13:28:36 EDT
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — The post-traumatic stress disorder defense being raised by an Iraq war veteran will likely postpone his double-murder trial to sometime after the second anniversary of the sandwich shop robbery at the center of the case.
read more here
PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet
Nurse testifies 3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman
Nurse: 3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman
By Angela K. Brown - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 13:52:58 EDT
FORT HOOD, Texas — Three young soldiers showed no fear and didn’t try to hide in the face of certain death as a lone gunman approached them during a deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a civilian nurse testified at a military hearing Tuesday.
“All three of these kids just stood their ground. They didn’t flinch. They weren’t afraid of him,” Theodore Coukoulis told the Article 32 hearing. “All three looked directly at the shooter. They were looking at death and they knew it.”
read more here
3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman
By Angela K. Brown - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 13:52:58 EDT
FORT HOOD, Texas — Three young soldiers showed no fear and didn’t try to hide in the face of certain death as a lone gunman approached them during a deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a civilian nurse testified at a military hearing Tuesday.
“All three of these kids just stood their ground. They didn’t flinch. They weren’t afraid of him,” Theodore Coukoulis told the Article 32 hearing. “All three looked directly at the shooter. They were looking at death and they knew it.”
read more here
3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman
Pentagon shooting isolated incident
Pentagon shooting isolated incident, police say
By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 15:53:25 EDT
WASHINGTON — Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as “a random event.”
No one was injured in the pre-dawn incident in which shots were fired into two windows at the sprawling Defense Department complex.
Steven Calvery, director of the civilian Pentagon Force Protection Agency, told reporters that a number of his officers reported hearing five to seven shots fired at about 4:55 a.m. local time near the south parking lot of the Pentagon. The Pentagon building and the roads leading it were briefly shut down as officers did an initial sweep of the area.
An internal search of the Pentagon found fragments of two bullets still embedded in two windows — one on the third floor and one on the fourth. The bullets had shattered but did not penetrate the windows, Calvery said. The windows were part of offices that are being renovated and they were unoccupied at the time.
read more here
Pentagon shooting isolated incident
By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 15:53:25 EDT
WASHINGTON — Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as “a random event.”
No one was injured in the pre-dawn incident in which shots were fired into two windows at the sprawling Defense Department complex.
Steven Calvery, director of the civilian Pentagon Force Protection Agency, told reporters that a number of his officers reported hearing five to seven shots fired at about 4:55 a.m. local time near the south parking lot of the Pentagon. The Pentagon building and the roads leading it were briefly shut down as officers did an initial sweep of the area.
An internal search of the Pentagon found fragments of two bullets still embedded in two windows — one on the third floor and one on the fourth. The bullets had shattered but did not penetrate the windows, Calvery said. The windows were part of offices that are being renovated and they were unoccupied at the time.
read more here
Pentagon shooting isolated incident
Staff Sgt. Giunta to receive Medal of Honor
By William Petroski - The Des Moines (Iowa) Register
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 12:27:45 EDT
DES MOINES, Iowa — The White House announced Monday that Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta of Hiawatha will be awarded the Medal of Honor on Nov. 16 by President Obama.
read more here
Giunta to receive Medal of Honor
HBO Wartorn documetary on PTSD from 1861 to 2010
HBO DOCUMENTARY WARTORN: 1861-2010, EXPLORING COMBAT AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS, DEBUTS ON VETERANS DAY, NOV. 11
James Gandolfini Executive Produces
Civil War doctors called it hysteria, melancholia and insanity. During the First World War it was known as shell-shock. By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat.
With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, the HBO special WARTORN 1861-2010 brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The HBO Documentary Films presentation debuts on Veterans Day, THURSDAY, NOV. 11 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
Other HBO playdates: Nov. 11 (3:25 a.m.), 14 (3:30 p.m.), 18 (10:30 a.m., 12:10 a.m.), 22 (noon, 7:30 p.m.), 27 (noon ET/12:30 p.m. PT) and 29 (4:45 a.m.), and Dec. 7 (10:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Nov. 13 (7:45 a.m.) and 24 (8:00 p.m.)
Executive produced by James Gandolfini (HBO's "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq"), WARTORN 1861-2010 is directed by Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent and produced by Alpert, Goosenberg Kent and Matthew O'Neill, the award-winning producers behind the HBO documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq." Alpert and O'Neill also produced and directed the HBO documentaries "Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery" and the Emmy(R)-winning "Baghdad ER." The documentary is co-produced by Lori Shinseki.
Bookended by haunting montages of emotionally battered American soldiers through the years, WARTORN 1861-2010 explores the very real wounds that occur as a result of combat stress, or PTSD. Among the segments of the film are:
Read more: Breaking News - HBO Documentary "Wartorn: 1861-2010," Exploring Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress, Debuts on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 | TheFutonCritic.com HBO DOCUMENTARY WARTORN
James Gandolfini Executive Produces
Civil War doctors called it hysteria, melancholia and insanity. During the First World War it was known as shell-shock. By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat.
With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, the HBO special WARTORN 1861-2010 brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The HBO Documentary Films presentation debuts on Veterans Day, THURSDAY, NOV. 11 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
Other HBO playdates: Nov. 11 (3:25 a.m.), 14 (3:30 p.m.), 18 (10:30 a.m., 12:10 a.m.), 22 (noon, 7:30 p.m.), 27 (noon ET/12:30 p.m. PT) and 29 (4:45 a.m.), and Dec. 7 (10:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Nov. 13 (7:45 a.m.) and 24 (8:00 p.m.)
Executive produced by James Gandolfini (HBO's "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq"), WARTORN 1861-2010 is directed by Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent and produced by Alpert, Goosenberg Kent and Matthew O'Neill, the award-winning producers behind the HBO documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq." Alpert and O'Neill also produced and directed the HBO documentaries "Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery" and the Emmy(R)-winning "Baghdad ER." The documentary is co-produced by Lori Shinseki.
Bookended by haunting montages of emotionally battered American soldiers through the years, WARTORN 1861-2010 explores the very real wounds that occur as a result of combat stress, or PTSD. Among the segments of the film are:
Angelo Crapsey: In 1861, 18-year-old Angelo Crapsey enlisted in the Union Army. His commanding officer called him the "ideal of a youthful patriot." In letters sent over the course of two years, Crapsey's attitude toward the Civil War darkened after he experienced combat and witnessed the deaths of countless soldiers, including several by suicide. By 1863, Crapsey, was hospitalized, feverish and delirious; eventually he was sent home to Roulette, Pa. Becoming paranoid and violent, he killed himself in 1864 at age 21. His father John wrote, "If ever a man's mental disorder was caused by hardships endured in the service of his country, this was the case with my son." A postscript reveals, "After the Civil War, over half of the patients in mental institutions were veterans."
Noah Pierce: More than a century after Crapsey's suicide, 23-year-old Noah Pierce got in his truck, put a handgun to his head, placed his dog tag next to his temple and shot himself. Pierce's mother Cheryl recalls how her son changed following two tours of Iraq, showing a photo of him "filled with hate and disillusionment." Cheryl Pierce says, "The United States Army turned my son into a killer," adding, "They forgot to un-train him." In a letter he left in the truck, Pierce wrote, "I'm freeing myself from the desert once and for all I have taken lives, now it's time to take mine."
Gen. Ray Odierno: In Baghdad, James Gandolfini meets with Gen. Ray Odierno, Commander of Allied Forces in Iraq, who says that 30% of service men and women report symptoms of PTSD and explains how Vietnam helped inform today's understanding of combat trauma. "Nobody is immune," says Odierno, relating how his own enlisted son lost his left arm when a rocket-propelled grenade ripped through his vehicle, killing the driver. Later, at nearby Camp Slater, Gandolfini visits with U.S. Army Sgt. John Wesley Matthews, who speaks candidly about his bouts of depression, reliance on sleeping pills and contemplation of suicide.
Read more: Breaking News - HBO Documentary "Wartorn: 1861-2010," Exploring Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress, Debuts on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 | TheFutonCritic.com HBO DOCUMENTARY WARTORN
"Must you carry the bloody horror of combat in your heart forever?" - Homer, "The Odyssey"
William Fraas Jr.: Two years after his return from the current Iraq conflict, Billy Fraas is trapped by memories, transfixed by computerized photos taken over 29 months and three tours of duty. The leader of a reconnaissance team, he was sent home after PTSD symptoms surfaced, and his leg still shakes uncontrollably when he sits at the computer. Fraas' wife Marie is frustrated by what's become of her husband. "Even though he wasn't shot," she says, "he still died over there." Adds Fraas, "I've seen humanity at its worst. And I struggle with that on a daily basis."
Herbert B. Hayden: In 1921, Col. Herbert Hayden's Atlantic Monthly story "Shell-Shocked and After" described the "perfect hell" of being sent to the front in WWI. His nightmare continued even after he returned home six months later "back and yet not back at all." Suicidal, Hayden checked into Walter Reed Hospital, "searching for a spark in the emptiness," but found only newspaper clippings of tormented ex-soldiers who were not being cared for. "What was wrong with my country?" he asked.
Nathan Damigo: In San Jose, Marine Lance Cpl. Nathan Damigo got a hero's welcome when he returned home from Iraq. A month later, he was arrested for attacking a Middle Eastern taxi driver at gunpoint. As his mother Charilyn explains, Damigo was drunk and confused, and went into "combat mode" as he assaulted the cabbie. After a final night of freedom, Damigo makes a court appearance where he is sentenced to six years in jail. "They took him when he was 18 and put him through a paper shredder," says his heartbroken mother. "We get to try to put all the pieces back together. Sometimes they don't go back together."
Jason Scheuerman: A member of the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, Scheuerman grew up in a family of soldiers. His father Chris recalls how Jason went to see an Army psychiatrist, and filled out a questionnaire admitting that he had thought about killing himself. After a ten-minute evaluation, he was told to "man up" and was ordered back to his barracks to clean his weapon. Instead, he shot himself. "It's not just the soldier that's in combat that comes down with PTSD," says Chris Jr., who served in Afghanistan. "It's the entire family."
Akinsanya Kambon: Marine combat illustrator Kambon served as a corporal in Vietnam for nine months. "The Marine Corps teaches you to be like an animal," he says, adding he turned into "a mad dog." One of his nightmarish drawings is of a soldier, eyes still flickering, whose lower torso is blown away. "It's one of the images that I wake up screaming about," he says, "but it won't go away."
Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops
Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops
Oct 15, 2010
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — While most of the 101st Airborne Division is in Afghanistan, preparations are already under way to identify those soldiers who will return home suffering from combat stress and mild brain injuries.
Suicides at Fort Campbell spiked last year after troops began returning home and increases in the Army's overall suicide rate is one reason installations like this one screen troops at such lengths. The Army is also adjusting their rules on the medical privacy of soldiers, a move officials hope will reduce stigma.
Soldiers will step off planes starting in January at Fort Campbell and face a battery of medical tests and interviews at a converted gymnasium. Underneath the basketball hoops, the one-stop shop for medical needs will become a triage point for hundreds of soldiers a day.
Medical officers with Army Surgeon General's office came to Fort Campbell this week to see the process for returning troops as some will struggle to resume their daily lives after a long and dangerous year of war.
Col. Rebecca Porter, chief of behavioral health under the surgeon general, said with soldiers serving repeated deployments, it's critical to "get their psychological, emotional and personal health in shape."
Some of the questions they'll face involve their marriages or their children, whether they have feelings of depression or stress or difficulty sleeping. They will also be assessed for mild head injuries.
"Initially several years ago soldiers were very resistant to it and felt like they were taking survey after survey," Porter said. "But that's why we have face-to-face interviews ... to look you in the eye and say, 'Are you really OK?'"
read more here
Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops
Oct 15, 2010
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — While most of the 101st Airborne Division is in Afghanistan, preparations are already under way to identify those soldiers who will return home suffering from combat stress and mild brain injuries.
Suicides at Fort Campbell spiked last year after troops began returning home and increases in the Army's overall suicide rate is one reason installations like this one screen troops at such lengths. The Army is also adjusting their rules on the medical privacy of soldiers, a move officials hope will reduce stigma.
Soldiers will step off planes starting in January at Fort Campbell and face a battery of medical tests and interviews at a converted gymnasium. Underneath the basketball hoops, the one-stop shop for medical needs will become a triage point for hundreds of soldiers a day.
Medical officers with Army Surgeon General's office came to Fort Campbell this week to see the process for returning troops as some will struggle to resume their daily lives after a long and dangerous year of war.
Col. Rebecca Porter, chief of behavioral health under the surgeon general, said with soldiers serving repeated deployments, it's critical to "get their psychological, emotional and personal health in shape."
Some of the questions they'll face involve their marriages or their children, whether they have feelings of depression or stress or difficulty sleeping. They will also be assessed for mild head injuries.
"Initially several years ago soldiers were very resistant to it and felt like they were taking survey after survey," Porter said. "But that's why we have face-to-face interviews ... to look you in the eye and say, 'Are you really OK?'"
read more here
Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops
Suicide Survivors Find Comfort With TAPS
Suicide Survivors Find Comfort With TAPS
By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 12, 2010 – Miranda Kruse sits in a hotel lobby here, sharing her story as dozens of her friends pass by. She waves at some and jumps up to warmly hug others, carefully guarding a plate of sandwiches for her three children, who are off playing with friends.
It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, Kruse could barely leave her house, gripped by a loneliness and depression triggered by her husband’s suicide that nearly swallowed her in darkness.
“Loneliness is so horrible after a suicide,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears. “There’s such a stigma and everyone wants to point a finger.”
It wasn’t until she attended her first Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors seminar that she truly emerged from the darkness, she said. TAPS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the survivors of fallen military loved ones.
“TAPS got me back on my feet,” she said. “They understand what you’re going through. We may cry and get emotional, but they understand.”
Kruse is among the more than 200 family members who traveled here from across the nation last weekend to attend the 2nd Annual TAPS Suicide Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp. Participants range from parent to spouse, sibling to battle buddy, but all lost a military loved one to suicide, some as recently as a week ago.
It has been nearly five years since Kruse’s loss, but the emotion still seems raw for her as she recalled her husband’s decline. It was only about a year into their relationship that Kruse first recognized something was very wrong with her future husband, Navy Chief Petty Officer Jerald Kruse.
It began with his severe insomnia, then progressed into nervous rocking and incessant nail biting. One night she heard him yelling and cursing at someone in the bathroom. But when she opened the door, he was alone.
Kruse urged him to get counseling, but he hesitated, afraid of the stigma of seeking military mental health care. He eventually agreed, although reluctantly, and was told to cut back on caffeine. They switched to another counselor, who said it might be attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a diagnosis they dismissed after some research.
They went to one last counseling visit on Aug. 5, 2005, and Kruse begged him to reveal the true depth of his troubles as he went in to talk to the counselor alone. After the appointment, he broke down in tears.
“What happened?” she asked him. “They don’t have answers,” he replied. “I’m done with this.”
Five months later, on New Year’s Day in 2006, Kruse went out in the evening for a while. When she returned, she found her husband in the backyard. He had shot himself.
read more here
Suicide Survivors Find Comfort With TAPS
By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 12, 2010 – Miranda Kruse sits in a hotel lobby here, sharing her story as dozens of her friends pass by. She waves at some and jumps up to warmly hug others, carefully guarding a plate of sandwiches for her three children, who are off playing with friends.
It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, Kruse could barely leave her house, gripped by a loneliness and depression triggered by her husband’s suicide that nearly swallowed her in darkness.
“Loneliness is so horrible after a suicide,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears. “There’s such a stigma and everyone wants to point a finger.”
It wasn’t until she attended her first Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors seminar that she truly emerged from the darkness, she said. TAPS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the survivors of fallen military loved ones.
“TAPS got me back on my feet,” she said. “They understand what you’re going through. We may cry and get emotional, but they understand.”
Kruse is among the more than 200 family members who traveled here from across the nation last weekend to attend the 2nd Annual TAPS Suicide Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp. Participants range from parent to spouse, sibling to battle buddy, but all lost a military loved one to suicide, some as recently as a week ago.
It has been nearly five years since Kruse’s loss, but the emotion still seems raw for her as she recalled her husband’s decline. It was only about a year into their relationship that Kruse first recognized something was very wrong with her future husband, Navy Chief Petty Officer Jerald Kruse.
It began with his severe insomnia, then progressed into nervous rocking and incessant nail biting. One night she heard him yelling and cursing at someone in the bathroom. But when she opened the door, he was alone.
Kruse urged him to get counseling, but he hesitated, afraid of the stigma of seeking military mental health care. He eventually agreed, although reluctantly, and was told to cut back on caffeine. They switched to another counselor, who said it might be attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a diagnosis they dismissed after some research.
They went to one last counseling visit on Aug. 5, 2005, and Kruse begged him to reveal the true depth of his troubles as he went in to talk to the counselor alone. After the appointment, he broke down in tears.
“What happened?” she asked him. “They don’t have answers,” he replied. “I’m done with this.”
Five months later, on New Year’s Day in 2006, Kruse went out in the evening for a while. When she returned, she found her husband in the backyard. He had shot himself.
read more here
Suicide Survivors Find Comfort With TAPS
Unique common oddities
Unique common oddities
Sarah Palin is not the brightest woman in the country, not the richest and certainly not the prettiest although when it comes to politicians, she may be the most attractive. The problem is, being attractive does not qualify someone for being in charge of anything. The media created the fascination. She was not nominated for the presidency but we don’t hear much about John McCain. The media hang on every Tweet she posts and they cover every appearance she makes. Yet John McCain, the actual nominee for the presidency, followed into the slow decent into the media abyss along with John Kerry and Al Gore, the spotlight on Palin has yet to dim. It is not driven by attention from us commoners but driven by the media.
Politicians and political ads fill the days as we attempt to watch TV. Their ads stuffed in our emails. CNN, MSNBC and Fox have dropped in-depth reporting on topics they used to make sure we knew about. It wouldn’t be so bad if the reporters knew their topic well enough to actually ask the questions the rest of us want answers for, but they don’t. We want to know, need to know, what the candidates plan on doing should they be elected. People deserve to know who really wants to cut Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Healthcare and the Department of Education when they talk about cutting spending. When they talk about worrying about the deficit and passing on the bill to our kids, we are worrying about surviving today and the current state of our lives knowing full well that if we fail today, the future will inherit all of this trouble.
Money flows into the campaigns allowing them to buy airtime. The media provide them with free advertising and that attention causes people to donate more. It’s big money for the media outlet and each year it costs more and more to run. Each year, there is more and more political ads being bought feeding the chain of attention. These people running for office are just as common as the rest of us but while we go to work on regular jobs taking care of one particular business, their business is the state they live in. It has never really been a matter of how well they do their jobs nut more about what kind of coverage they get from the media. The media decides what we learn and whom we learn about. It is one of the biggest reasons I no longer watch CNN, MSNBC or Fox.
When was the last time you actually heard anything about Iraq or Afghanistan? Our troops are deployed into two combat operations but we don’t seem to hear much about either one. We certainly don’t hear about the suicides, attempted suicides, the medicated state of soldiers suffering because they were sent over and over again into combat any more than we hear about the homeless veterans created by combat. Unless you are interested and invested enough to search for reports, you have no clue what any of them are going through. The media decided that reporting on them was just not sexy enough.
Here’s a thought. Considering the billions of dollars Iraq and Afghanistan caused us to spend along with the billions predicted to care for the combat wounded in the Veteran’s Healthcare system, wouldn’t it be great if the media figured out that there are more veterans of combat than politicians running for office? There is more money being dedicated to taking care of them than going into the political campaigns they find worthy of coverage. While they want to talk about the deficit, how about reporting on the fact neither war was in the budget or funded up until this year. It was all supplemental request for additional funding but none of the reporters have thought this is an important fact to mention. It is a certainty the politicians silently accepting all of this will find it in their best interest to remain silent on this fact.
Here in Florida with much of the population on Social Security, the ads try to cause the to fear cutbacks by the wrong people. It is true that money was cut from Medicare but it was not cut from benefits. It was cut from the waste, fraud and abuse hurting our seniors. The politicians the ads support actually have it in their plan to privatize Social Security. This fact is not mentioned by the ads or by the media. They also claim to care about our veterans but also in their plan is turning veterans’ healthcare over to private companies. We have over 400,000 veterans and the new VA hospital in Lake Nona is due to open in 2012. Do Florida politicians plan on turning that over to private companies too?
This nation sent them into combat. They served this one nation. This nation owes them the care they were promised. The VA is a government run program some politicians call a “welfare program” totally disregarding the facts behind the need for it. While there are problems in the VA you read about here everyday, some want to end it instead of fixing the problems. We deserve the truth on who is behind this just as much as we deserve to know who is really fighting for veterans but they are a minor topic for the media.
Getting back to the media darling Palin, the media did a lousy job covering that campaign when they did not report on McCain’s deplorable votes on veterans issues. It is disgraceful how he votes against them all the time while all these years he’s run as being one of them. The media just allowed the myth to go on much as they decided all along who they would turn into a common oddity to advertise as unique.
The next time you hear someone complain about the money being spent remember this.
Sarah Palin is not the brightest woman in the country, not the richest and certainly not the prettiest although when it comes to politicians, she may be the most attractive. The problem is, being attractive does not qualify someone for being in charge of anything. The media created the fascination. She was not nominated for the presidency but we don’t hear much about John McCain. The media hang on every Tweet she posts and they cover every appearance she makes. Yet John McCain, the actual nominee for the presidency, followed into the slow decent into the media abyss along with John Kerry and Al Gore, the spotlight on Palin has yet to dim. It is not driven by attention from us commoners but driven by the media.
Politicians and political ads fill the days as we attempt to watch TV. Their ads stuffed in our emails. CNN, MSNBC and Fox have dropped in-depth reporting on topics they used to make sure we knew about. It wouldn’t be so bad if the reporters knew their topic well enough to actually ask the questions the rest of us want answers for, but they don’t. We want to know, need to know, what the candidates plan on doing should they be elected. People deserve to know who really wants to cut Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Healthcare and the Department of Education when they talk about cutting spending. When they talk about worrying about the deficit and passing on the bill to our kids, we are worrying about surviving today and the current state of our lives knowing full well that if we fail today, the future will inherit all of this trouble.
Money flows into the campaigns allowing them to buy airtime. The media provide them with free advertising and that attention causes people to donate more. It’s big money for the media outlet and each year it costs more and more to run. Each year, there is more and more political ads being bought feeding the chain of attention. These people running for office are just as common as the rest of us but while we go to work on regular jobs taking care of one particular business, their business is the state they live in. It has never really been a matter of how well they do their jobs nut more about what kind of coverage they get from the media. The media decides what we learn and whom we learn about. It is one of the biggest reasons I no longer watch CNN, MSNBC or Fox.
When was the last time you actually heard anything about Iraq or Afghanistan? Our troops are deployed into two combat operations but we don’t seem to hear much about either one. We certainly don’t hear about the suicides, attempted suicides, the medicated state of soldiers suffering because they were sent over and over again into combat any more than we hear about the homeless veterans created by combat. Unless you are interested and invested enough to search for reports, you have no clue what any of them are going through. The media decided that reporting on them was just not sexy enough.
Here’s a thought. Considering the billions of dollars Iraq and Afghanistan caused us to spend along with the billions predicted to care for the combat wounded in the Veteran’s Healthcare system, wouldn’t it be great if the media figured out that there are more veterans of combat than politicians running for office? There is more money being dedicated to taking care of them than going into the political campaigns they find worthy of coverage. While they want to talk about the deficit, how about reporting on the fact neither war was in the budget or funded up until this year. It was all supplemental request for additional funding but none of the reporters have thought this is an important fact to mention. It is a certainty the politicians silently accepting all of this will find it in their best interest to remain silent on this fact.
Here in Florida with much of the population on Social Security, the ads try to cause the to fear cutbacks by the wrong people. It is true that money was cut from Medicare but it was not cut from benefits. It was cut from the waste, fraud and abuse hurting our seniors. The politicians the ads support actually have it in their plan to privatize Social Security. This fact is not mentioned by the ads or by the media. They also claim to care about our veterans but also in their plan is turning veterans’ healthcare over to private companies. We have over 400,000 veterans and the new VA hospital in Lake Nona is due to open in 2012. Do Florida politicians plan on turning that over to private companies too?
This nation sent them into combat. They served this one nation. This nation owes them the care they were promised. The VA is a government run program some politicians call a “welfare program” totally disregarding the facts behind the need for it. While there are problems in the VA you read about here everyday, some want to end it instead of fixing the problems. We deserve the truth on who is behind this just as much as we deserve to know who is really fighting for veterans but they are a minor topic for the media.
Getting back to the media darling Palin, the media did a lousy job covering that campaign when they did not report on McCain’s deplorable votes on veterans issues. It is disgraceful how he votes against them all the time while all these years he’s run as being one of them. The media just allowed the myth to go on much as they decided all along who they would turn into a common oddity to advertise as unique.
The next time you hear someone complain about the money being spent remember this.
VA Tops $1B Mark in Recovery Act DistributionsLet someone tell you they are not worth it.
Upgrades Include Energy Projects, Medical Facility Upgrades,
Cemetery Improvements
WASHINGTON (Oct. 15, 2010)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has
distributed more than $1 billion in funds made available through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, agency officials have
announced. Recovery Act funding is being used to modernize and replace
existing VA medical facilities, make improvements at national cemeteries
and award grants to states for Veterans homes.
"America's Veterans are getting more modern, efficient and greener
facilities that are better suited to provide them the comprehensive care
and service they have earned," VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said.
"These upgrades are possible through Recovery Act funds that are not
only revitalizing VA's extensive infrastructure, but also moving needed
money into the economy," he said.
The funding is part of President Obama's economic recovery plan to
improve services to America's Veterans. VA committed its total Recovery
Act funds of $1.8 billion by July.
To help Veterans access their care, Recovery Act projects at VA medical
facilities are adding or improving more than 26,000 parking spaces. VA
is also upgrading nearly 14,000 inpatient bed spaces and 16 pharmacy
renovation projects will help Veterans get medicines quicker and more
efficiently. More than 14,400 clinical improvement projects, some with
multiple exam rooms, are being undertaken.
Physical improvements to VA medical facilities include investments in
energy efficiency projects; almost $400 million overall is targeted for
energy projects and some $90 million for renewable energy studies and
projects.
VA is installing solar photovoltaic systems at facilities in
Albuquerque, N.M.; Tucson, Ariz.; Dublin, Ga.; Calverton, N.Y.; and San
Joaquin and Riverside, Calif.
The department is erecting a wind turbine in Bourne, Mass., and
constructing a geothermal system at its medical center in St. Cloud,
Minn. Additionally, VA is building renewably fueled co-generation
systems at five medical facilities: Togus, Maine; White River Junction,
Vt.; Chillicothe, Ohio; Loma Linda, Calif.; and Canandaigua, N.Y. It is
also installing metering systems at all VA-owned facilities to monitor
energy utilities, including electricity, water, chilled water, steam and
natural gas consumption.
VA is investing $197 million in energy and water infrastructure
improvements. Its facilities across the country are upgrading
properties and structures to reduce energy consumption and water usage
and better manage related costs.
Throughout VA's system of 131 national cemeteries, 392 improvement
projects are underway using $50 million in Recovery Act funding. VA is
restoring and preserving 47 historic monuments and memorials, becoming
more energy efficient by investing in renewable energy sources (solar
and wind), implementing nine energy conservation projects, and improving
access and visitor safety with 44 road, paving and grounds improvement
projects.
Funds are also being used to raise, realign and clean approximately
200,000 headstones and markers, repair sunken graves, and renovate turf
at 24 VA national cemeteries.
VA Recovery Act grants totaling $150 million are also assisting states
to construct, improve, or acquire nursing home, domiciliary or adult day
health care facilities.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Sounds of war, memories of a massacre
At Fort Hood: sounds of war, memories of a massacre
From Charley Keyes, CNN Senior Producer
October 17, 2010 3:44 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A military hearing is underway at Fort Hood for the suspect in last year's shootings on the base
A prosecution parade of witnesses began last week
Most of the shooting victims were preparing for Iraq or Afghanistan when they were hit
Fort Hood, Texas (CNN) -- The distant rumble of big guns on Fort Hood's artillery range rattles the ceiling tiles in the small military courtroom.
But the sounds of war training don't interrupt the intensity inside the military hearing as dozens of witnesses here recal that day last November when 13 people were shot to death and 32 wounded on the base in central Texas.
Training with Paladin howitzers is part of everyday life at Fort Hood, the country's largest Army base. Most of the shooting victims were preparing to ship out to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
But nothing prepared them for what happened to them at home -- dodging bullets as a gunman cut down their buddies.
The prosecution put up more than two dozen witnesses in the first three full days of the Article 32 hearing. Prosecutors have set aside two more weeks, and scores more witnesses are expected. The Article 32 hearing will reconvene in November for defense attorneys to make their case. Then an Army colonel, -- the Investigating officer presiding over this hearing -- will decide if there is enough evidence to push the case along toward a court martial with a possible penalty of death upon conviction.
During live video testimony from Afghanistan, fighter jets roared overhead as soldiers described how their safe and secure base suddenly became a bloody battleground.
read more here
At Fort Hood sounds of war memories of a massacre
From Charley Keyes, CNN Senior Producer
October 17, 2010 3:44 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A military hearing is underway at Fort Hood for the suspect in last year's shootings on the base
A prosecution parade of witnesses began last week
Most of the shooting victims were preparing for Iraq or Afghanistan when they were hit
Fort Hood, Texas (CNN) -- The distant rumble of big guns on Fort Hood's artillery range rattles the ceiling tiles in the small military courtroom.
But the sounds of war training don't interrupt the intensity inside the military hearing as dozens of witnesses here recal that day last November when 13 people were shot to death and 32 wounded on the base in central Texas.
Training with Paladin howitzers is part of everyday life at Fort Hood, the country's largest Army base. Most of the shooting victims were preparing to ship out to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
But nothing prepared them for what happened to them at home -- dodging bullets as a gunman cut down their buddies.
The prosecution put up more than two dozen witnesses in the first three full days of the Article 32 hearing. Prosecutors have set aside two more weeks, and scores more witnesses are expected. The Article 32 hearing will reconvene in November for defense attorneys to make their case. Then an Army colonel, -- the Investigating officer presiding over this hearing -- will decide if there is enough evidence to push the case along toward a court martial with a possible penalty of death upon conviction.
During live video testimony from Afghanistan, fighter jets roared overhead as soldiers described how their safe and secure base suddenly became a bloody battleground.
read more here
At Fort Hood sounds of war memories of a massacre
Combat Stress Driving Up Army Crime, Drug Abuse, Suicides
Anti-anxiety medications given to over 100,000 soldiers? Most of these drugs, if not all of them, require a doctor checking on them but that's not all not being done. These drugs won't help if the lives are not changed at the same time. Putting them back into combat after trauma has already begun to eat them away only prolongs the agony instead of helping them heal. Most of these medications also come with warnings about staying away from things that can make their condition worse while telling them side effects can make even driving dangerous to them. They are given these medications and then armed to face combat but even using machinery can be dangerous? Therapy is needed more than drugs to help them heal otherwise the symptoms are only being masked.
Substance abuse is common with PTSD, much like medications, they mask the symptoms of PTSD and calm them down for a while. Too many soldiers don't want to be given drugs that make them zombies. Some would rather be thought of as being a druggie or alcoholic instead of being a "mental case" because that attitude still lives on in military culture.
The other factor in this report is that with 2 million having been deployed into combat, the increase in PTSD yet the rates for crimes are very low, which says a lot about their character.
What exactly is the military still thinking when it comes to giving them medication even civilians have to be careful about taking? Are they trying to just get them to show up for duty and function no matter what harm is being done to them without therapy? Do they think about the side affects of the drugs they are handing out? Do they think about short term memory loss and the fact that some soldiers can't remember if they took their pills or not?
They can heal and recover but medication alone won't get them there from here.
Substance abuse is common with PTSD, much like medications, they mask the symptoms of PTSD and calm them down for a while. Too many soldiers don't want to be given drugs that make them zombies. Some would rather be thought of as being a druggie or alcoholic instead of being a "mental case" because that attitude still lives on in military culture.
The other factor in this report is that with 2 million having been deployed into combat, the increase in PTSD yet the rates for crimes are very low, which says a lot about their character.
What exactly is the military still thinking when it comes to giving them medication even civilians have to be careful about taking? Are they trying to just get them to show up for duty and function no matter what harm is being done to them without therapy? Do they think about the side affects of the drugs they are handing out? Do they think about short term memory loss and the fact that some soldiers can't remember if they took their pills or not?
They can heal and recover but medication alone won't get them there from here.
Combat Stress Driving Up Army Crime, Drug Abuse, Suicides
Today, more than 100,000 soldiers are on prescribed anti-anxiety medication, and 40,000 are thought by the Army to be using drugs illicitly. Misdemeanor offenses are rising by 5,000 cases a year.
With the pressing need for manpower, the Army has retained more than 25,000 soldiers who would otherwise have been discharged for misbehavior, including 1,000 soldiers with two or more felony convictions.
DAVID WOOD
Chief Military Correspondent
The U.S. Army, under the accumulating stress of nine years at war, is suffering an alarming spurt of drug abuse, crime and suicide that is going unchecked, according to an internal study that depicts an Army in crisis.
A small but growing number of soldiers who perform credibly in combat turn to high-risk behavior, including drug abuse, drunken driving, motorcycle street-racing, petty crime and domestic violence, once they return home.
As a result, more soldiers are dying by drug overdose, accident, murder and suicide than in combat. Suicide is now the third-leading cause of death for soldiers.
"Simply stated, we are often more dangerous to ourselves than the enemy,'' concludes the extraordinary internal Army investigation commissioned by Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff.
The study also found that across the Army, leaders have lost visibility and accountability over their soldiers, in many cases unaware that soldiers under their command had abused drugs, committed crimes or even previously tried to commit suicide. Drug testing is done only sporadically, the study found, and there are no central repositories for criminal data.
read more here
Combat Stress Driving Up Army Crime Drug Abuse Suicides
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Storage facility manager makes sure veteran gets a proper burial
Storage facility manager makes sure veteran gets a proper burial
By Matt Kawahara | Sacramento Bee
CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. -- They rumbled up the driveway of a Citrus Heights storage facility at 11:30 a.m. Friday, each of the five motorcycles flying an American flag, each of the six riders wearing a bright yellow vest.
They lined up and parked in front of unit 5001. Jerry Petersen, manager of the Mini Stor on Auburn Boulevard, rolled up the orange metal door and lifted a golden urn from some shelving inside.
As Petersen stood in the open doorway, the six riders made a path to the motorcycles for him, three on each side, saluting. Petersen carried the urn to the back seat of a waiting bike, stepped back and gave an emphatic salute.
And like that, James Gerald Leach, retired U.S. Air Force senior master sergeant, was on his way to an honorable burial 13 years after his death.
Read more: Veteran gets a proper burial
By Matt Kawahara | Sacramento Bee
CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. -- They rumbled up the driveway of a Citrus Heights storage facility at 11:30 a.m. Friday, each of the five motorcycles flying an American flag, each of the six riders wearing a bright yellow vest.
They lined up and parked in front of unit 5001. Jerry Petersen, manager of the Mini Stor on Auburn Boulevard, rolled up the orange metal door and lifted a golden urn from some shelving inside.
As Petersen stood in the open doorway, the six riders made a path to the motorcycles for him, three on each side, saluting. Petersen carried the urn to the back seat of a waiting bike, stepped back and gave an emphatic salute.
And like that, James Gerald Leach, retired U.S. Air Force senior master sergeant, was on his way to an honorable burial 13 years after his death.
Read more: Veteran gets a proper burial
Being what you were meant to be
A long time ago I began to ask people what made them become what they were. In a way, I wanted to discover if any of them would be able to tell me what made me do what I do. One of my classes at college just answered it for me and much to my surprise, I am what I was intended to be.
I always believed that God creates a soul for a purpose. Each one of us have certain gifts, talents and are drawn to do certain things no one else is. There are strong parts of me and then there are weak parts of me. One of them that drives me nuts is that I can't really cook. I do it enough to not starve to death but frozen dinners are fine with me. It is something I have never really been good at doing. My strengths perplexed the hell out of me until I took the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator. I am type ENFJ with the jobs listed are ministry, media, therapist, educator and primary caregiver. No shocker there considering I am a chaplain, (ministry) work in media (blog and website) work with veterans and their families coping with PTSD, (therapist) and do it by educating them on what PTSD is, (educator) and all because I am married to a Vietnam Vet with PTSD as the primary caregiver. I am doing what I was built to do and while there are issues doing it, usually financial, I am very comfortable doing it. I belong here.
Some of the other people with ENFJ are;
Famous people of your particular type
Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Clara Barton (Founder of the American Red Cross), Ronald Reagan
According to the test I am;
This brings up a very interesting theory I have had for a very long time. When people enter into the military, they do it because that is what they were built/created to do. It requires a great deal of compassion to care enough to be willing to risk your own life but it also takes a great deal of courage. They care enough about others to be ready to die for them. So how is it that the rest of us can't seem to understand this? How is it the military cannot understand their own people?
It is human nature when you care so deeply for others that your life is secondary that you also feel everything more deeply and that includes pain. There is a lot of heartbreak when men and women are sent into combat zones that needs to be addressed as soon as possible but because of all the other qualities that make them "them" this often gets overlooked. It is also one of the biggest reasons there is such a rise in PTSD aside from the increase due to redeployments. They don't get what they need to heal and recover.
Reports have come out that many of them are not getting any therapy at all but are getting medication. That does not help them heal. Medication only alters the symptoms so they can function. Most of the time they are redeployed before they can get therapy. Yet in our civilian world, there are many crisis responders for us to talk to as humans. This makes no sense at all to have the people exposed to traumatic events the most to be the last one to receive the emotional help to heal.
For National Guards and Reservists, the issue is even more troubling because many of them are also members of law enforcement, firefighters and EMT workers. They leave one traumatic experience for another back home. Who is there for them? They were created to be what they have become but no matter how much extra God put into them, they still need the support and care the rest of us get but they need it even more. This type of person is the last to ask for help because they are the givers. They also need it more because they are doing what few others in this country would ever dream of doing, yet they wanted to do nothing else more.
If we want to get ahead of the suicides and attempted suicides and start to really help them heal, we need to get to them before they have settled for the pain they feel to be just part of their job.
If you are drawn to do something or pulled against what you "want to do" then maybe you should take this test and find out what you were made to be. You may be surprised.
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
Take it if you are or were in the military because the chances are you were created to be what you are and that is a very rare person.
I always believed that God creates a soul for a purpose. Each one of us have certain gifts, talents and are drawn to do certain things no one else is. There are strong parts of me and then there are weak parts of me. One of them that drives me nuts is that I can't really cook. I do it enough to not starve to death but frozen dinners are fine with me. It is something I have never really been good at doing. My strengths perplexed the hell out of me until I took the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator. I am type ENFJ with the jobs listed are ministry, media, therapist, educator and primary caregiver. No shocker there considering I am a chaplain, (ministry) work in media (blog and website) work with veterans and their families coping with PTSD, (therapist) and do it by educating them on what PTSD is, (educator) and all because I am married to a Vietnam Vet with PTSD as the primary caregiver. I am doing what I was built to do and while there are issues doing it, usually financial, I am very comfortable doing it. I belong here.
Some of the other people with ENFJ are;
Famous people of your particular type
Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Clara Barton (Founder of the American Red Cross), Ronald Reagan
According to the test I am;
Warm, empathetic, responsive and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as a catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitae others in a group and provide inspiring leadership.
This brings up a very interesting theory I have had for a very long time. When people enter into the military, they do it because that is what they were built/created to do. It requires a great deal of compassion to care enough to be willing to risk your own life but it also takes a great deal of courage. They care enough about others to be ready to die for them. So how is it that the rest of us can't seem to understand this? How is it the military cannot understand their own people?
It is human nature when you care so deeply for others that your life is secondary that you also feel everything more deeply and that includes pain. There is a lot of heartbreak when men and women are sent into combat zones that needs to be addressed as soon as possible but because of all the other qualities that make them "them" this often gets overlooked. It is also one of the biggest reasons there is such a rise in PTSD aside from the increase due to redeployments. They don't get what they need to heal and recover.
Reports have come out that many of them are not getting any therapy at all but are getting medication. That does not help them heal. Medication only alters the symptoms so they can function. Most of the time they are redeployed before they can get therapy. Yet in our civilian world, there are many crisis responders for us to talk to as humans. This makes no sense at all to have the people exposed to traumatic events the most to be the last one to receive the emotional help to heal.
For National Guards and Reservists, the issue is even more troubling because many of them are also members of law enforcement, firefighters and EMT workers. They leave one traumatic experience for another back home. Who is there for them? They were created to be what they have become but no matter how much extra God put into them, they still need the support and care the rest of us get but they need it even more. This type of person is the last to ask for help because they are the givers. They also need it more because they are doing what few others in this country would ever dream of doing, yet they wanted to do nothing else more.
If we want to get ahead of the suicides and attempted suicides and start to really help them heal, we need to get to them before they have settled for the pain they feel to be just part of their job.
If you are drawn to do something or pulled against what you "want to do" then maybe you should take this test and find out what you were made to be. You may be surprised.
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
Take it if you are or were in the military because the chances are you were created to be what you are and that is a very rare person.
Widow of a Vietnam Veteran walking for those who cannot
Why Diane Musselmann
is “Walking for Those Who Can’t”
Kenneth Musselmann was a soldier who fought for his country in Vietnam. After losing both legs to a landmine, Ken returned home and devoted his life to disabled vets and their causes, his wife Diane at his side during this important journey. As a Director of the Disabled Veterans’ LIFE Memorial Foundation, Ken was an integral part in the Foundation’s efforts to bring the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial to reality and to educate people about disabled veterans’ issues.
Sadly, Ken passed away in 2009. But Diane has been making sure his passion endures. To raise awareness and donations for the Memorial that Ken championed, Diane will be walking 90 miles over six days along the coast of California in memory of her husband and those who have fallen in service.
Please support Diane’s courage and selflessness during her Walk.
Show Diane your support by making a donation to AVDLM at Diane’s Memorial Ambassador Page.
Stay updated on her progress by visiting Diane’s blog where she will be chronicling her experience.
If you live in Southern California, walk with Diane for as long and as far as you are able (see the map below for dates and places).
Walk Schedule
10/18 VA Medical Center Long Beach
5901 East 7th Street
Long Beach, CA 90822
Contact: Mike Burns
(562) 404-1266
7:30 a.m. Walkers and supporters meet at the VA Medical Center Long Beach for refreshments and speeches.
8:00 a.m. Diane and walkers depart.
Route will pass through Seal Beach, Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach, ending in Newport Beach.
10/19 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Newport Beach (Jamboree Rd. and Pacific Coast Hwy.)
Route will pass through Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach, ending in Dana Point.
10/20 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Dana Point (Del Prado Rd.and Golden Lantern St.)
Route will pass through Capistrano, San Clemente and San Onofre State Beach, ending at the Las Pulgas gates of Camp Pendleton.
10/21 Camp Pendleton
CA 92055
(Old Pacific Hwy and Las Pulgas Rd.)
7:00 a.m. Walkers and Supporters gather at Las Pulgas gate.
8:00 a.m. Marines escort walkers through Camp Pendleton.
After Camp Pendleton, route will end in Carlsbad.
10/22 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Carlsbad (Carlsbad Blvd. and S. Coast Hwy.)
Route will pass through Encinitas and Solano Beach, ending in Del Mar.
10/23 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Del Mar (Camino Del Mar and Hwy 101.)
Route will pass through Torrey Pines before reaching their final end point at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Diego.
12:00 p.m. Walkers and Supporters arrive at the
VA Medical Center in San Diego.
3350 La Jolla Village Dr.
San Diego, CA 92161
Contact: Jim Galliher
(619) 299-6916
Refreshments, balloon arts and more to welcome and congratulate Diane and her fellow walkers.
Diane Musselmann
I am a widow of a Vietnam Veteran, mother and grandmother. I am 64 years young. I am walking the "Walking for Those Who Can't" walk to create awareness for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C. Also, to focus attention on disabled veterans, past and present and unfortunately, future. This is going to be a challenging and emotional journey. I will be pushing my husband's empty wheelchair for the entire 6 day, 90 mile walk to create awareness for the long overdue American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.
read more about her walk here
http://www.walkingforthosewhocant.blogspot.com/
is “Walking for Those Who Can’t”
Kenneth Musselmann was a soldier who fought for his country in Vietnam. After losing both legs to a landmine, Ken returned home and devoted his life to disabled vets and their causes, his wife Diane at his side during this important journey. As a Director of the Disabled Veterans’ LIFE Memorial Foundation, Ken was an integral part in the Foundation’s efforts to bring the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial to reality and to educate people about disabled veterans’ issues.
Sadly, Ken passed away in 2009. But Diane has been making sure his passion endures. To raise awareness and donations for the Memorial that Ken championed, Diane will be walking 90 miles over six days along the coast of California in memory of her husband and those who have fallen in service.
Please support Diane’s courage and selflessness during her Walk.
Show Diane your support by making a donation to AVDLM at Diane’s Memorial Ambassador Page.
Stay updated on her progress by visiting Diane’s blog where she will be chronicling her experience.
If you live in Southern California, walk with Diane for as long and as far as you are able (see the map below for dates and places).
Walk Schedule
10/18 VA Medical Center Long Beach
5901 East 7th Street
Long Beach, CA 90822
Contact: Mike Burns
(562) 404-1266
7:30 a.m. Walkers and supporters meet at the VA Medical Center Long Beach for refreshments and speeches.
8:00 a.m. Diane and walkers depart.
Route will pass through Seal Beach, Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach, ending in Newport Beach.
10/19 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Newport Beach (Jamboree Rd. and Pacific Coast Hwy.)
Route will pass through Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach, ending in Dana Point.
10/20 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Dana Point (Del Prado Rd.and Golden Lantern St.)
Route will pass through Capistrano, San Clemente and San Onofre State Beach, ending at the Las Pulgas gates of Camp Pendleton.
10/21 Camp Pendleton
CA 92055
(Old Pacific Hwy and Las Pulgas Rd.)
7:00 a.m. Walkers and Supporters gather at Las Pulgas gate.
8:00 a.m. Marines escort walkers through Camp Pendleton.
After Camp Pendleton, route will end in Carlsbad.
10/22 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Carlsbad (Carlsbad Blvd. and S. Coast Hwy.)
Route will pass through Encinitas and Solano Beach, ending in Del Mar.
10/23 8:00 a.m. Walkers depart from Del Mar (Camino Del Mar and Hwy 101.)
Route will pass through Torrey Pines before reaching their final end point at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Diego.
12:00 p.m. Walkers and Supporters arrive at the
VA Medical Center in San Diego.
3350 La Jolla Village Dr.
San Diego, CA 92161
Contact: Jim Galliher
(619) 299-6916
Refreshments, balloon arts and more to welcome and congratulate Diane and her fellow walkers.
Diane Musselmann
I am a widow of a Vietnam Veteran, mother and grandmother. I am 64 years young. I am walking the "Walking for Those Who Can't" walk to create awareness for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C. Also, to focus attention on disabled veterans, past and present and unfortunately, future. This is going to be a challenging and emotional journey. I will be pushing my husband's empty wheelchair for the entire 6 day, 90 mile walk to create awareness for the long overdue American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.
read more about her walk here
http://www.walkingforthosewhocant.blogspot.com/
10 more soldiers testify in hearing about Fort Hood killings
10 more soldiers testify in hearing about Fort Hood killings
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, October 16, 2010
By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News
lhancock@dallasnews.com
FORT HOOD, Texas – Some soldiers glared on Friday as they identified the man in a wheelchair as their assailant. Several wept describing comrades dying where no one expected an attack. The judge presiding, prosecutors and defense lawyers looked grim – even stricken – as witness after witness recounted how a soldier readiness center became a charnel house.
Maj. Nidal Hasan gave them all the same impassive look that he has maintained during three previous days of his probable cause hearing.
The Army psychiatrist blinked slowly as soldiers told of their desperate scramble for cover to escape steady gunfire. He rubbed his chin or forehead with pale hands as men and women described being shot again and again as they crawled through blood and bodies. Only during breaks did his blank expression change; he once looked anxious and once showed the hint of a smile as he conferred with the defense team.
The 40-year-old betrayed no emotion as soldiers from the mental health unit he was scheduled to deploy with spoke of taking bullets and watching comrades die trying to stop his Nov. 5 attack.
read more here
10 more soldiers testify in hearing about Fort Hood killings
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, October 16, 2010
By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News
lhancock@dallasnews.com
FORT HOOD, Texas – Some soldiers glared on Friday as they identified the man in a wheelchair as their assailant. Several wept describing comrades dying where no one expected an attack. The judge presiding, prosecutors and defense lawyers looked grim – even stricken – as witness after witness recounted how a soldier readiness center became a charnel house.
Maj. Nidal Hasan gave them all the same impassive look that he has maintained during three previous days of his probable cause hearing.
The Army psychiatrist blinked slowly as soldiers told of their desperate scramble for cover to escape steady gunfire. He rubbed his chin or forehead with pale hands as men and women described being shot again and again as they crawled through blood and bodies. Only during breaks did his blank expression change; he once looked anxious and once showed the hint of a smile as he conferred with the defense team.
The 40-year-old betrayed no emotion as soldiers from the mental health unit he was scheduled to deploy with spoke of taking bullets and watching comrades die trying to stop his Nov. 5 attack.
read more here
10 more soldiers testify in hearing about Fort Hood killings
Mich. soldier's remains among 3 returned from Laos
Mich. soldier's remains among 3 returned from Laos
By The Associated Press
3:07 p.m. CDT, October 16, 2010
The Defense Department says the remains of a Michigan soldier are among those of three soldiers missing in action in the Vietnam War that have been identified.
Army Staff Sgt. Melvin C. Dye, of Carleton, Mich., was one of those aboard a UH-1H Iroquois helicopter when it was shot down by enemy fire in Laos on Feb. 19, 1968.
read more here
Michigan soldier
By The Associated Press
3:07 p.m. CDT, October 16, 2010
The Defense Department says the remains of a Michigan soldier are among those of three soldiers missing in action in the Vietnam War that have been identified.
Army Staff Sgt. Melvin C. Dye, of Carleton, Mich., was one of those aboard a UH-1H Iroquois helicopter when it was shot down by enemy fire in Laos on Feb. 19, 1968.
read more here
Michigan soldier
Funeral home shows honor to homeless veterans
Funeral home shows honor to homeless veterans
October 11, 2010|Stephen Fellersfeller@tribune.com
Even though there are government programs to offer support to the men and women who have defended our country, many veterans end up on the streets with no one to give them a proper burial after death.
Seeking to give these heroes the dignity it feels they deserve, one company launched a national program with the help of several national groups to give veterans a full funeral and military service.
Kraeer Funeral Home, a Margate-based location of the Dignity Memorial chain of homes, did its first burial of a homeless veteran on
The funeral home provided embalming services, a casket, a flag, clothes and the procession to the cemetery, all which runs about $7,000, to honor Clay, said Marge Muth, local director of funeral services for Dignity Memorial.
"Even though they're homeless and have no family, we want to give them full military honors and eulogy," Muth said. "We all went up there and treated him like he was a top dog somewhere."
Funeral home shows honor to homeless veterans
They did it here in Orlando and they have done it many times across the country.
October 11, 2010|Stephen Fellersfeller@tribune.com
Even though there are government programs to offer support to the men and women who have defended our country, many veterans end up on the streets with no one to give them a proper burial after death.
Seeking to give these heroes the dignity it feels they deserve, one company launched a national program with the help of several national groups to give veterans a full funeral and military service.
Kraeer Funeral Home, a Margate-based location of the Dignity Memorial chain of homes, did its first burial of a homeless veteran on
The funeral home provided embalming services, a casket, a flag, clothes and the procession to the cemetery, all which runs about $7,000, to honor Clay, said Marge Muth, local director of funeral services for Dignity Memorial.
"Even though they're homeless and have no family, we want to give them full military honors and eulogy," Muth said. "We all went up there and treated him like he was a top dog somewhere."
Funeral home shows honor to homeless veterans
They did it here in Orlando and they have done it many times across the country.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Officers speak about post-war experiences
Jennifer HeekeOn Thursday afternoon, Maj. Jeff Hall discusses his experience in Iraq and the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on both wounded and unwounded soldiers.
Officers speak about post-war experiences
By Katie Reilley
junior staff writer
Published: Friday, October 15, 2010
One officer told the story of how he bled out, was dead for 15 minutes, but was resurrected through the efforts of Army medics. Another officer related how he stood in his backyard, contemplating suicide because he hated dealing with the constant pain of daily life, while his wife felt "like a failure" because her husband was not the same person he was before his combat experience.
These are the stories of nationally-recognized and decorated Fort Riley officers Capt. Joshua Mantz, Maj. Jeff Hall and Hall's wife, Sheri Hall, sophomore in social work. The three spoke at the College of Human Ecology lecture "Combat Stress: Redefining the ‘Wounded' Warrior and Family" yesterday afternoon in Hale Library's Hemisphere Room.
Mantz, Jeff and Sheri spoke on post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that gained more recognition by the military after suicide rates increased from 89 deaths in 2008 to 110 in 2009, according to an Oct. 2, 2009, article on military.com.
The Institute for the Health and Security of Military Families lecture was originally intended only for the Trauma and Disorders class taught by Briana Nelson Goff, but was opened up to the public. Goff is the director of the institute and associate dean for academic affairs of the College of Human Ecology.
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Officers speak about post-war experiences
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