State of the Union speech AWOL on troops and veterans

Let me make this perfectly clear from that start that President Obama has done a lot for veterans in his first two years. I know they matter to him just as much as the troops do and so do readers of this blog keeping track of all the changes at the same time you've read about how much more needs to be done. You've read about the suicides, arrests, struggles they face and too many heartbreaking stories to know all is not well for them. With Iraq and Afghanistan almost 2 million have been added to the veteran count but as they wait for the care this nation promised, their numbers have been reduced on the flip side because the care was not already waiting for them.

I understand this nation has big problems that need to be addressed. We need jobs and this I know all too well because I have been without a steady paying job since 2008. On health insurance reform we need to know that we cannot be canceled because of preexisting illnesses. This I know because it was one of my brother's greatest fears when he lost his job and less than a week later he died from a massive heart attack at the age of 56. Back in college I know the need for financial aid to help cover the cost of a college education. There is much this nation has to do and much that has been done but just as there is much to be proud of that sense of pride should accept absolutely no excuses for not taking care of our veterans.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 25, 2011

Remarks by the President in State of Union AddressUnited States Capitol, Washington, D.C.



Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high. American combat patrols have ended, violence is down, and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America’s commitment has been kept. The Iraq war is coming to an end.

Hold their heads up high? How do they do that when they come home and then have to fight to have a claim approved, wait for months or years while they have no income to live on? How do they hold their heads up high when they are able, willing and ready to work but cannot find a job? How do they do that when the rest of the nation has been able to forget all about the fact there have been two wars going on but if you ask the average American they have no clue about any of what has been going on? They did their jobs but we haven't done ours'.

We’ve also taken the fight to al Qaeda and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan security forces. Our purpose is clear: By preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al Qaeda the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11.

Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.

In Pakistan, al Qaeda’s leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe havens are shrinking. And we’ve sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: We will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you.

Most of the men and women becoming veterans in the last few years entered into the military because of 9-11 but our support of them when they needed us has wavered, yet we call them heroes and brave, worthy of our praise but not our devotion.

Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they’ve served us -- by giving them the equipment they need, by providing them with the care and benefits that they have earned, and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.

Our troops come from every corner of this country -– they’re black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation.

Saying we support our troops and their families is not the same as doing it. "Enlisting veterans in the task of building our own nation" is not taking care of the veterans unable to work. It is time the leadership of this nation devoted the full measure of our gratefulness by allowing no excuses for one single veteran having to wait for care when they did not make us wait when this nation sent them into combat.

UPDATE
This email came from IAVA

Dear Chaplain Kathie,

Last night, our nation listened closely to the President’s State of the Union address.

We heard words. We heard rhetoric. But we didn’t hear a concrete plan of action to tackle any of the most urgent issues facing new veterans and their families. Nothing on veteran unemployment. And nothing on the staggering rate of military and veteran suicides.

Not only did the President miss a chance to address our issues, he misrepresented a key fact. The President said: "Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse.”

Unfortunately, as many vets know firsthand, this is not true. Right now, the VA does not allow vets to access their full electronic medical records online.

In the last 24 hours, we’ve heard from hundreds of IAVA Member Veterans, all expressing surprise and outrage that the President could get something so wrong in arguably the most important speech of the year.

We want people to get the facts straight. Please forward this email to your friends and family to help us get the word out.

IAVA is now pushing the White House for a public correction. We’re also advocating for a plan to make VA medical records as accessible and seamless as possible. And in a few weeks, we will launch our 2011 Policy Agenda. Improving the VA and systems like this will be one of our top priorities. And we’ll need your help.

Together in 2011, we'll make sure all veterans know that we’ve got their back.

Best,

Paul

Paul Rieckhoff
Executive Director and Founder
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

This is where this came from.

Now, we’ve made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse.

Disabled veteran denied pain meds because he wouldn't convert

The good news in this is that the VA did send this veteran to a new doctor but the bad news is it ever reached that point. I am a chaplain because I do believe in the power of prayer but faith cannot be forced onto anyone and it is up to them what they believe or not. As a person of faith I see it as my job to show love, compassion and care for others but it is not my job to judge someone, try to convert them or pressure them into anything. I address questions regarding faith carefully, as if what I say matters just as much as the person I am talking to. For a government office to have anyone trying to religiously convert anyone, getting involved in influencing their personal faith at all is way out of line.

A Crusade and a Holy War in the US Military
-- Jason Leopold

An Orthodox Jew and former petty officer in the US Navy said his civil rights were violated after a chaplain and officials at a Veterans Administration hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, tried to convert him to Christianity while he was under the V.A.'s care.

David Miller, 46, who is on full disability, said in an interview that his physician at the Veterans Affairs (V.A.) Medical Center in Iowa City told him last week to go home and pray or meditate in place of using medication to relieve the pain he was experiencing from kidney stones. When Miller complained to V.A. staffers that his physician suggested he turn to God to treat his medical condition and refused to prescribe pain medication, V.A. officials provided him with a new doctor.

"My doctor said that since I am a religious Jew, I should try prayer or meditation to deal with the pain," Miller said. "I was shocked that a medical doctor would make such a suggestion. I immediately raised hell and was assigned a new physician."

Kurt Sickels, a spokesman for the Iowa City V.A. Medical Center, said that he could not comment on Miller's specific allegations against the hospital, but he said the V.A. does not try to convert patients to Christianity.

"We respect all religious preferences and beliefs, and we make every effort to accommodate what those beliefs may be," Sickels said.

If officials tried to convert Miller, Sickels said, the hospital staff is not adhering to its policy.

Miller dresses in the traditional attire required for Orthodox Jews. He started receiving treatment for a heart condition and kidney stones at the Iowa City V.A. hospital after moving back to his hometown two years ago. Since then, he said, a chaplain on duty at the hospital has tried on numerous occasions to convert him to Christianity.

"The first two visits by the Protestant (Assembly of God) chaplain were all about trying to convert me, trying to convince me that I needed Jesus, that Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews too," Miller said. "My medical records clearly indicate that I am Jewish. However, with each admission, I have informed the nursing staff both verbally and in writing that I require kosher food and that I do not wish to be visited by anyone from the chaplain's office. I requested they contact my rabbi, and I provided them with his name and telephone number. Despite these instructions, during all three of my hospitalizations, I have been denied kosher food and have had to endure my entire hospitalizations without eating."

The chaplain, Miller said, provided him with a copy of a scripture from the New Testament, despite Miller's protests that he be left alone. click link for more

How is this possible? It happens while they are in the military and there are some in the VA believing they have every right to get involved in the personal choices of our veterans. Faith is a very personal thing. When they suggest prayer, that is fine as long as they do not get involved in what-who-how the veteran prays. Spirituality is important in healing but that is when it is of their own freewill, needs and beliefs.

Concerns Raised About Combat Troops Given Psychotropic Drugs

It is not that they are "using" the drugs. The biggest problem is they are given them. That is an important word choice that needs to be made clear.

Concerns Raised About Combat Troops Using Psychotropic Drugs
FOX News – Jan 19, 2011


As U.S. military leaders gathered Wednesday to give their latest update on the rash of Army suicides, new questions are being raised about a U.S. Central Command policy that allows troops to go to Iraq and Afghanistan with up to a six-month supply of psychotropic drugs.

Prescription drugs have already been linked to some military suicides, and a top Army official warned last year about the danger of soldiers abusing that medication. Psychiatrists are now coming down hard on the military for continuing to sanction certain psychotropic drugs for combat troops, saying the risk from side effects is too great.

“There’s no way on earth that these boys and girls are getting monitored on the field,” said Dr. Peter Breggin, a New York-based psychiatrist who has extensively studied the side effects of psychiatric drugs. “The drugs simply shouldn’t be given to soldiers.”

Anxiety, violent behavior and “impulsivity” are all side effects of some of these medications, he said, the latter symptom being particularly dangerous in a war zone. Breggin said that if patients were given these medications in the civilian world and not monitored, it would amount to “malpractice.”
read more here
Concerns Raised About Combat Troops Using Psychotropic Drugs

Mental health hospital and owner sued

Mental health hospital and owner sued
Published: Jan. 24, 2011 at 6:06 PM
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- An employee at a Pasadena, Calif., mental health facility filed a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging the hospital provided "minimal, substandard care" to patients.

The suit was filed last year in U.S. District Court and sealed but newly made public.

It is the most recent in a string of complaints concerning care at Aurora Las Encinas Hospital, a psychiatric facility treating patients seeking help for alcoholism and drug problems, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

One of the allegations mentioned in the suit and in government investigations include the deaths of two patients being treated for substance abuse in which case workers falsified logs to show they had been checked every 15 minutes, government reports said.

Read more: Mental health hospital and owner sued

Two cops dead, U.S. marshal shot in St. Petersburg FL

Two cops dead, U.S. marshal shot trying to arrest suspect in St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg shooting comes four days after two Miami-Dade detectives were shot dead
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — A man hiding in the attic of a home sparked an intense firefight with authorities trying to arrest him on a warrant Monday morning, killing two officers and wounding a deputy U.S. Marshal, police said.

St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon said more than 100 rounds were fired during the shootout, which was the latest in a recent rash of shootings across the nation that have killed or wounded law enforcement officers.

The officers had come to arrest Hydra Lacy Jr., 39, on an aggravated battery charge, and investigators think he is the one who opened fire on the officers, police spokesman Michael Puetz said. He said Lacy had a long record that includes convictions for armed robbery and sexual battery.

As of midday, the shooter was still barricaded inside the home, police said.

"He was somebody we wanted to get off the streets, " Harmon said. "Who expects to walk into a house and get gunfire from the attic?"

Harmon would not identify the dead officers pending notification of their relatives.

read more here
Two cops dead, U.S. marshal shot

Orlando's VA Medical Center taking shape

Orlando's VA Medical Center taking shape

By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel
10:29 p.m. EST, January 24, 2011

The Orlando VA Medical Center slated to open next year in Lake Nona will offer some nationwide firsts for the more than 100,000 Central Florida military veterans expected to seek treatment there.

The $600 million-plus facility, which includes a hospital, clinic, nursing home and rehabilitation center, will be the only such center in the country in which all of the rooms are private. Each one will be equipped with a hoist and railings for lifting patients, and they will accommodate all but intensive care so patients don't have to move to new rooms as they recover. Each room will also have a view of a lake, conservation area or garden, and offer Internet access.

"It's very much different than anything else you'd see around here," said Joe Battle, who oversees construction of the center for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "It's very much about making this as home-like of an environment as possible."

Everything from colors to textures have been chosen to create a more comfortable feel than that of the typical hospital, he added. Window glass, for instance, is 3 inches thick to keep out noise from nearby Orlando International Airport.
read more here
Orlando's VA Medical Center taking shape

Brain scans show changes after combat

When I do presentations I talk about how survivors of traumatic events walk away one of two ways. Either they were saved, spared by God and glad to be alive or they think they were abandoned by God, judged and the trauma was brought into their lives as punishment.

For the first group, they are touched by the event and most of the time changed by it in a more positive way than a negative one. For the other group when they feel as if there is no one watching over them, it takes over.

What's more, the investigators observed that neural activity in the region of the brain that is responsible for emotional regulation differed among the deployed soldiers. The kind of changes that took place depended on how the soldiers perceived the experiences to which they were exposed, the study authors noted. For example, the degree to which a soldier perceived a roadside bomb explosion to be a threat predicted the degree of activity change in their brain's emotional control center.

One time, they can manage to heal easier than the next time. Too many times it piles up on them and is less likely to be healed alone. Feeling alone is part of the problem in itself.

The following study looked at soldiers before and after deployment using brain scans.

Stress of War Spurs Changes in Brain Activity, Study Finds
Scans show that regions that control fear, vigilance, emotion affected by deployment
Posted: January 24, 2011
MONDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Continual exposure to stress prompts neural activity changes in those parts of the brain that control fear, vigilance and emotion, a new study suggests.


The finding stems from an analysis of brain scans taken among troops recently deployed to Afghanistan, and is reported in the Jan. 18 issue of the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

"For the first time we can now conclude that the effects on the brain really are due to experiences in combat," study first author Guido van Wingen, of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, said in a university news release.
read more here
Stress of War Spurs Changes in Brain Activity, Study Finds

Iliff's military chaplaincy program

New Degree Addresses Needs of Military Chaplains for PTSD Training

DENVER, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Are you a military chaplain interested in learning more about spiritual care to those experiencing post traumatic stress? Are you a spiritual caregiver wanting more knowledge and experience in working with post traumatic stress? There's a new degree at Iliff that can help – the master of arts in pastoral and spiritual care.
"Designed for students who already hold a master of divinity degree (MDIV), the MAPSC is an expedient way to concentrate additional theological education on pastoral care courses, as well as courses in psychology, counseling, comparative religions, or social work through the University of Denver," said Carrie Doehring, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling.
The MAPSC degree can be completed in 40 quarter credits, if chaplains have previously earned a MDIV or its equivalent from an accredited institution prior to Iliff enrollment. Specific requirements may be negotiated based on prior educational experience. A minimum grade point average of 2.75 is needed for admission. A two year MAPSC is also available for caregivers without a MDIV, who wish to gain expertise in working with trauma and spiritual care.
"Iliff's strong collaborative relationships with a variety of clinical settings are helpful for finding appropriate clinical pastoral education settings for chaplains – including settings for the study of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)," added Doehring. "Chaplains can also complete a summative project focused on the experience of PTSD in the military, supervised by our pastoral care faculty."
Iliff's military chaplaincy program begins in August and is usually completed with a summer unit of clinical pastoral education (the following year).
Courses include:
Impact of war on pastoral care of families
PTSD: Pastoral, psychological, and theological responses
Substance abuse and dependence: Psychological and theological perspectives
Physical and sexual violence: Pastoral responses
Pastoral care in death and dying, grief and loss
Multicultural pastoral care and counseling
Self care and healthy boundaries
Trauma and crisis intervention

Former Marine sues over Camp Lejeune water contamination

Former Marine sues over Camp Lejeune water contamination


BY BARBARA BARRETT

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON - A man who served at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune for nearly two years in the 1950s has sued the federal government for $16 million, saying poisonous water at the North Carolina base caused his cancer.
Joel P. Shriberg of Pinehurst, N.C., was diagnosed in 2004 with male breast cancer and had a radical mastectomy on his left breast. The cancer has since metastasized to his lung, according to the suit he filed last week in the U.S. District Court's Eastern District of North Carolina.
Shriberg is one of more than 65 men across the United States who has been diagnosed with male breast cancer after serving at Lejeune. He couldn't be reached for comment.
According to his lawsuit, he was a clerk with the 155th Howitzer Division from September 1957 through April 1959, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of colonel.
That was when, according to federal and state documents, poisons that included tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene and benzene contaminated Camp Lejeune's water system. The contamination lasted until the mid-1980s.
The contamination violated military standards that included Navy drinking water standards of 1946, the lawsuit claims.
Federal scientists have established that the water was hazardous, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has begun establishing some links on a case-by-case basis between the water and some diseases, including male breast cancer.
The suit says the Marine Corps failed to protect Lejeune residents during the period of contamination and that it has been "passive" about notifying Marines and their families since. The military never contacted Shriberg, according to his suit. He learned about and signed up with the Marines' water contamination registry last April.


Read more: Former Marine sues over Camp Lejeune water contamination

Marine from Orlando found dead in snowdrift in Revere Massachusetts

Man found dead on Revere Beach ID’d as Fla. Marine

By Robin Kaminski/The Daily Item

REVERE - A man who was found partially buried in a snowdrift on Revere Beach Boulevard Jan. 19 has been identified as a Marine from Orlando, Fla.

Huang Day Phan, 23, was identified by his family on Friday, according to Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley.
read more here
Man found dead on Revere Beach

When they can't see the enemy

"We don't know who we're fighting over there, who's friendly and who isn't," he said. "They're always watching us. We're basically fighting blind."

This is what they bring back home. They fight an enemy they can't see just as they did in combat. PTSD is the enemy hidden in the shadows of their minds. It is as dangerous as a bomb waiting to explode but this one waits to claim every part of their lives, is more cunning than any human and more patient. The bombs they encounter in Afghanistan and Iraq are hidden by the enemy refusing to face the US forces. They explode hitting anyone nearby yet for the troops escaping the physical damage they have all the images frozen in their minds. While we count the dead and the wounded, there is no real way to count the true magnitude of the walking away wounded.

We talk about the rates of PTSD placed between one out of five or one out of three. Most experts use the 30% range but this figure is used for one traumatic event, not multiple incidences.

Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) usually results from prolonged exposure to a traumatic event or series thereof and is characterized by long-lasting problems with many aspects of emotional and social functioning.

Statistics regarding this illness indicate that approximately 7%-8% of people in the United States will likely develop PTSD in their lifetime, with the lifetime occurrence (prevalence) in combat veterans and rape victims ranging from 10% to as high as 30%. Somewhat higher rates of this disorder have been found to occur in African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans compared to Caucasians in the United States. Some of that difference is thought to be due to higher rates of dissociation soon before and after the traumatic event (peritraumatic), a tendency for individuals from minority ethnic groups to blame themselves, have less social support, and an increased perception of racism for those ethnic groups, as well as differences between how ethnic groups may express distress. In military populations, many of the differences have been found to be the result of increased exposure to combat at younger ages for minority groups. Other important facts about PTSD include the estimate of 5 million people who suffer from PTSD at any one time in the United States and the fact that women are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD.

Almost half of individuals who use outpatient mental-health services have been found to suffer from PTSD.

As evidenced by the occurrence of stress in many individuals in the United States in the days following the 2001 terrorist attacks, not being physically present at a traumatic event does not guarantee that one cannot suffer from traumatic stress that can lead to the development of PTSD.

PTSD statistics in children and teens reveal that up to more than 40% have endured at least one traumatic event, resulting in the development of PTSD in up to 15% of girls and 6% of boys. On average, 3%-6% of high school students in the United States and as many as 30%-60% of children who have survived specific disasters have PTSD. Up to 100% of children who have seen a parent killed or endured sexual assault or abuse tend to develop PTSD, and more than one-third of youths who are exposed to community violence (for example, a shooting, stabbing, or other assault) will suffer from the disorder.

Although not all individuals who have been traumatized develop PTSD, there can be significant physical consequences of being traumatized. For example, research indicates that people who have been exposed to an extreme stressor sometimes have a smaller hippocampus (a region of the brain that plays a role in memory) than people who have not been exposed to trauma. This is significant in understanding the effects of trauma in general and the impact of PTSD, specifically since the hippocampus is the part of the brain that is thought to have an important role in developing new memories about life events. Also, whether or not a traumatized person goes on to develop PTSD, they seem to be at risk for higher use of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Conversely, people whose PTSD is treated also tend to have better success at overcoming a substance-abuse problem.

Economically, PTSD can have significant consequences as well. As of 2005, more than 200,000 veterans were receiving disability compensation for this illness, for a cost of $4.3 billion. This represents an 80% increase in the number of military people receiving disability benefits for PTSD and an increase of 149% in the amount of disability benefits paid compared to those numbers five years earlier.

read more hereComplex posttraumatic stress disorder

During a year of deployment one may encounter ten, twenty, thirty or more times when they have witnessed catastrophic events. They bury the pain with practice but they do not defeat it.

This is from the above article.

PTSD At A Glance
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emotional illness that was first formally diagnosed in soldiers and war veterans and is usually caused by terribly frightening, life-threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe experiences but can also be caused by devastating life events like unemployment or divorce.
PTSD symptom types include re-experiencing the trauma, avoidance, and hyperarousal.
PTSD has a lifetime prevalence of 7%-30%, with about 5 million people suffering from the illness in any one year. Girls, women, and ethnic minorities develop PTSD more than boys, men, and Caucasians.
Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) usually results from prolonged exposure to traumatic event(s) and is characterized by long-lasting problems that affect many aspects of emotional and social functioning.
Symptoms of C-PTSD include problems regulating feelings, dissociation, or depersonalization; persistent depressive feelings, seeing the perpetrator of trauma as all-powerful, preoccupation with the perpetrator, and a severe change in what gives the sufferer meaning.

There are many levels of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

38 C.F.R. § 4.130, DC 9411
GENERAL RATING FORMULA FOR MENTAL DISORDERS:

Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought process or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation occupation, or own name 100%

Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as: suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships 70%

Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining Effective work and social relationships 50%

Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events) 30%
go to Vietnam Veterans of America for more

While some experts disagree on the numbers, what they all agree on is the sooner survivors of trauma seek help, the more of their lives they can reclaim. What we are seeing today is only the start of too many more survivors needing to put their lives back together again. While most say they want to go back to the way they were before, this is not possible any more than it is possible for any of us to go back to our younger days. Life changes all of us. For the survivors of trauma with the right kind of help they can be better than they were before!

Now that you have a better understanding of how complicated all of this is, read the report of Marines in the battle for Sangin Afghanistan. It may help you understand what is coming in the next few years and how many will need help to heal.

Lance Cpl. Juan Dominguez, 26, left, practices using a biometric prosthetic arm with Todd Love, also from Camp Pendleton, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Marines pay a price trying to secure an Afghan hot spot
What happened to them in Sangin district of Helmand province shows the sacrifices in a campaign aimed at crippling the Taliban in a stronghold and helping extricate the U.S. from a decadelong war.

By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
January 22, 2011, 8:33 p.m.

Reporting from Camp Pendleton — Marines tell of snipers who fire from "murder holes" cut into mud-walled compounds. Fighters who lie in wait in trenches dug around rough farmhouses clustered together for protection. Farmers who seem to tip the Taliban to the outsiders' every movement , often with signals that sound like birdcalls.

When the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, deployed to the Sangin district of Afghanistan's Helmand province in late September, the British soldiers who had preceded them warned the Americans that the Taliban would be waiting nearly everywhere for a chance to kill them.

But the Marines, ordered to be more aggressive than the British had been, quickly learned that the Taliban wasn't simply waiting.

In Sangin, the Taliban was coming after them.

In four years there, the British had lost more than 100 soldiers, about a third of all their nation's losses in the war.

In four months, 24 Marines with the Camp Pendleton-based Three-Five have been killed.

More than 140 others have been wounded, some of them catastrophically, losing limbs and the futures they had imagined for themselves.

The Marines' families have been left devastated, or dreading the knock on the door.

"We are a brokenhearted but proud family," Marine Lt. Gen. John Kelly said. He spoke not only of the battalion: His son 1st Lt. Robert Kelly was killed leading a patrol in Sangin.

When Lance Cpl. Juan Dominguez slipped down a small embankment while out on patrol and landed on a buried bomb, the explosion could be heard for miles.

"It had to be a 30- to 40-pounder," Dominguez said from his bed at the military hospital in Bethesda, Md. "I remember crying out for my mother and then crying out for morphine. I remember them putting my legs on top of me."

His legs were severed above the knee, and his right arm was mangled and could not be saved. A Navy corpsman, risking sniper fire, rushed to Dominguez and stopped the bleeding. On the trip to the field hospital, Dominguez prayed.

"I figured this was God's will, so I told him: 'If you're going to take me, take me now,'" he said.

His memories of Sangin are vivid. "The part we were in, it's hell," he said. "It makes your stomach turn. The poor families there, they get conned into helping the Taliban."

Like many wounded Marines, Dominguez never saw a Taliban fighter.

"We don't know who we're fighting over there, who's friendly and who isn't," he said. "They're always watching us. We're basically fighting blind."

read more here
Marines pay a price trying to secure an Afghan hot spot

There is also the issue of when they can see the enemy right in front of them. A Marine killed an Afghan Police Officer he was working with after he pulled a gun on the Marine.

US marine kills Afghan policeman after dispute
KABUL | Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:54am EST
(Reuters) - A U.S. marine shot and killed an Afghan police officer Saturday after a dispute between the pair during a security operation in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

ISAF was investigating the incident in Helmand province. It said initial reports found that after a dispute, the police officer made threatening statements and handled his weapon carelessly and the marine told his commanding officers.

"After departing his post, the uniformed police member returned with his weapon raised and pointed toward the marine," ISAF said in a statement.

"The marine responded with escalation of force procedures, including shouting at the individual to put the weapon down."

When the police officer failed to put down his weapon, the marine fired two shots and killed him, ISAF said. More information would be made available, it said, when the investigation into the incident at a patrol base in Sangin district was complete.
read more of this here
US marine kills Afghan policeman after dispute

There is a history behind this and many times someone they were training ended up turning on them and killing US Forces. This leaves them not knowing who to trust wondering who will be the next to turn against them.

Brother, Sister Die in Crash on Way to Stepmother's Funeral

Brother, Sister Die in Crash on Way to Stepmother's Funeral
Jan 22, 2011 – 2:15 PM



Lisa Holewa
Contributor
Chester Mills was supposed to bury his wife in Indiana earlier this week.

But while two of his children were driving from Georgia to attend their stepmother's funeral, their car spun out on a snowy highway and was broadsided by an oncoming tractor-trailer. The crash killed them and a friend who was driving the car.

Now Mills is left dealing with more impossible loss.

"It's a difficult day," Rev. Rodney Coffman told AOL News during a brief telephone interview, as he traveled this morning from the funeral to the cemetery where Amber Mills was being buried.

Mills, 43, died at her home in Waveland Monday morning after a battle with lung cancer. Her funeral, scheduled to be held Thursday -- the day of the accident -- was postponed until today, Coffman said.

Logan Mills, 21, and Amanda Mills, 25, died in the crash along with Anthony Suggs, 25, of Ruskin, Fla. Suggs apparently lost control of the car on the snow-covered road, causing it to spin into the northbound lane of State Road 47 into the path of the truck. The car tumbled into a ravine and the truck landed on top of it.
read more here
Brother, Sister Die in Crash on Way to Stepmother's Funeral

Medal of Honor headstone placed on fallen Oviedo soldier's grave

This morning was not a day for politics and Gov. Scott didn't make any speeches. The service was left to the commanders to address the people paying honor to this Medal of Honor fallen soldier.

No one was talking in the crowd but as I took pictures before the service I wondered why there were so few people there. How many Medal of Honor recipients do we have that people did not feel they had to be there for this service?

I taped it and I'm working on the video which should be done in a couple of days but I wanted to make sure readers of this blog heard about this story.

Medal of Honor headstone placed on fallen Oviedo soldier's grave
Governor Rick Scott attends ceremony unveiling memorial to fallen Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller
By Anika Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel
3:54 p.m. EST, January 22, 2011
CASSELBERRY — Hundreds of people gathered at a cemetery Saturday to watch the unveiling of a memorial to a special Oviedo soldier.

A headstone placed at the grave of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller notes that Miller was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military recognition. Miller, who died serving in Afghanistan, was the first member of Operation Enduring Freedom to be awarded the honor.

Miller, 24, was "tough, skilled, smart and proven in many battles," said Admiral Eric Olson, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.

"He raised the abilities and the morale of everyone around him."


Miller died on Jan. 25, 2008, when he deliberately drew fire from more than 100 enemy fighters, allowing his fellow Green Berets and some Afghanistan National Army soldiers fighting with them to take cover, saving their lives. He killed more than 16 enemy combatants and wounded more than 30 in the battle, according to the U.S. Army Special Forces Command.

He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House on Oct. 6, 2010.

The crowd watched in silence as the headstone was unveiled at the All Faiths Memorial Cemetery..

"It was such a meaningful ceremony," said Edwina Ericsson of Winter Springs. "Getting a Medal of Honor is such a special, special thing."
read more here and see pictures from the Sentinel
Medal of Honor headstone placed on fallen Oviedo soldier's grave

Westboro Group's hate defeated by love for fallen soldier

According to this report Westboro Group (I won't dignify them by calling them a church) was going to protest at this funeral. The family and other mourners were wrapped in an enormous group of strangers who came out to show their love. Hate is always defeated by love.

Hundreds of mourners pay respects to Bordentown soldier killed in Afghanistan
Published: Saturday, January 22, 2011
By Matt Fair/The Times


BORDENTOWN CITY — Hundreds of mourners – an assemblage of family and friends alongside representatives from police departments, fire companies, emergency medical squads and veterans groups from across New Jersey – gathered this morning to pay their last respects to a Bordentown City soldier who died in combat in Afghanistan last week.
U.S. Army Spec. Benjamin Moore, 23, died Jan. 12 after his unit was attacked with an improvised explosive device. Two other soldiers were also killed in the incident.
Moore, a native of Bordentown City, was also a volunteer firefighter and certified EMT with Hope Hose Human Co.

Protesters from the fringe Westboro Baptist Church, a hate group which has made a habit of picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in action, had said earlier this week they would be in attendance.
At the end of the day, despite authorities setting up a staging area well out of sight from the graveside service, no protesters from the group made an appearance. read more here
Bordentown soldier killed in Afghanistanl

Thieves Steal War Medals From Vietnam Vet

Thieves Steal War Medals From Vietnam Vet

Reported by: Rachel Azevedo

A Vietnam Veteran who served the United States is now asking for the public’s help. Joe Torres' war medals were stolen from his southeast Fresno home on Tuesday. He's devastated over the loss, but hopes whoever took the medals will bring them back.

This is the face of a 20-year-old Marine, proud to be serving his country. This is the same man today, devastated over the loss of his military medals.


“They took my whole heart, right there. I mean, that's three years of my life,” said Torres.


Three years, gone in an instant. On Tuesday, someone broke into Torres' home through the front door. The burglar ransacked the home, taking the T.V., computer, and a jewelry box which had Torres' medals inside.
read more here
Thieves Steal War Medals From Vietnam Vet

Female war-dog handler has been killed in action

Death of female war-dog handler is first for active duty servicewomen
Jan 22, 2011 1:20AM

The recent death of an Army sergeant in Afghanistan marks the first time a female war-dog handler has been killed in action in any U.S. war, according to experts on military working dogs.

Ron Aiello, head of the U.S. War Dogs Association and a former Vietnam War dog handler, and others who have studied the history of U.S. dogs in combat said they were not aware of any other women dog handlers killed in action.

Sgt. Zainah Caye Creamer, 28, of Texarkana, Ark., died Jan. 12 in the Kandahar area while patrolling for explosives, one of which detonated. She was on her third war deployment, but her first tour as a dog handler. Her dog, Jofa, was not injured.
read more here
Death of female war-dog handler

Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2011-2012

Opening Statement of Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Welcome to the hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2012.

The President has requested a budget for VA of $125 billion, including a total discretionary resource request of $60.3 billion. VA medical care represents 86 percent of the total discretionary request. For fiscal year 2011, the Administration is requesting $51.5 billion in resources for VA medical care. Appropriated resources for medical care for fiscal year 2011 have already been provided in last year’s Consolidated Appropriations Act. This funding level is an increase of $4.1 billion, or 8.6 percent over fiscal year 2010 levels.

In accordance with the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, enacted last year with the support of this Administration and the bipartisan support of this Congress, the VA has requested $50.6 billion in appropriated dollars and a total resource level of $54.3 billion, a $2.8 billion, or 5.3 percent increase over fiscal year 2011 levels. We understand this level is consistent with the VA’s actuarial model.

Rest assured that this Committee will be working closely with our counterparts in Congress and with the Administration as the process moves forward to ensure that veterans have the medical care resources they need when fiscal year 2012 begins on October 1, 2011.

The veterans’ groups that co-author the Independent Budget, who will be testifying on our second panel today, have recommended for fiscal year 2011, a total resource level for VA medical care of $52 billion, and an overall discretionary funding level of $61.5 billion, $1.2 billion above the Administration’s requested increase of $4.3 billion. We are looking forward to their testimony and the testimony of The American Legion, VVA, IAVA, and Veterans for Common Sense which are on our third panel.

Mr. Secretary, I am impressed by your robust budget request and your emphasis on funding many of the priorities of this Committee, including addressing the plague of homelessness, rural health care access, and the mental health care needs of our veterans. This budget addresses the problems faced by our newer veterans while not forgetting the sacrifices and service of veterans from previous conflicts.

I note that you are requesting additional funding for more claims processors and I am looking forward to you providing this Committee with a roadmap on how we reform the claims process. More money and more FTE will not solve this broken process and it won’t provide us with a system that is fair to veterans and efficient.

We look forward to hearing about your successes this year, your frustrations, and how you plan to use the resources in this request to meet the needs of our veterans. We look forward to working with you to ensure that you have the money to do the job, and we look forward to working closely with you to assist you in your goal of creating a 21st Century VA.

Avatar deployed by DOD for PTSD

Watching the brief report from KPVI news it is hard to get a true impression of this but what I can tell you is that it very well may be a great idea.

PTSD leaves people feeling like a stranger in their own skin. An avatar could fit right into the way they already feel. The soldiers can go from one part of the site to another and watch "themselves" walk through it. Sounds good so far? It gets even better.

The thought that the DOD would come up with a program like this helps in that thought alone. They know they are not alone and more soldiers are dealing with the same issues they are even though they may not talk about it. The magnitude of this wound is spreading and will keep spreading as more and more troops face more traumatic events. The sooner they seek help to heal the less damage done to their lives. This is not an answer to all that comes with PTSD but seems like a really great place to start.

Department of Defense Launches New PTSD Website
Wednesday January 19, 2011 11:18pm MST
The Department of Defense (DoD) launched a new website Wednesday aimed at helping those suffering from the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The website has the user set up an avatar in which they navigate through a simulated "therapy island". The users can move at their own pace and click on links along the way. This is the first time that the Department of Defense has used this approach for PTSD.

The exact cause of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is still unknown but doctors believe that psychological, social, physical and genetic factors are all involved. PTSD alters the way that a person responds to stress. That is why it is so important to treat the disorder.

There are many options for treatment this includes the DoD website and the Pocatello Cere-Balance Center.
go here for video report
Department of Defense Launches New PTSD Website

MSNBC has a better report on this

Virtual haven set up for combat vets
Alan Boyle writes:One of the best things about virtual reality is that it isn't real — and the Pentagon is taking advantage of that fact by offering a virtual realm that can take combat vets and their loved ones through the whole cycle of post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD and depression are thought to affect 10 to 30 percent of the U.S. military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, depending on how you define the disorder. For some vets, the trauma left behind from combat experiences can lead to alcohol abuse, aggressive behavior, family problems or even suicide.
Typically, therapists help PTSD sufferers get through the experience by having them relive and talk through stressful experiences in a safe environment. That's where virtual reality can make a difference: For several years now, therapists have been using online worlds such as Second Life to simulate the stresses in a therapeutic context. Studies have shown that such simulations can lead to a clinically significant lessening of PTSD symptoms. Some researchers are even using simulations to identify potential PTSD sufferers —and deal with their problems — even before the warfighters are sent into combat.
Therapists only wish that vets would take greater advantage of the treatment tools at hand.

T2 Virtual PTSD Experience

Fort Hood Army suicides hit record mark

Hood, Army suicides hit record mark
At least 22 confirmed last year in and around Fort Hood, doubling the post’s total from 2009.
By Sig Christenson / Sigc@express-news.net
Published: 01:46 a.m., Thursday, January 20, 2011

Giger had spent close to a quarter-century in the Army and been to Iraq three times since 2004, receiving two Bronze Star medals for valor. If he felt stress from the divorce and financial problems, he didn’t let on.

KILLEEN — Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Eugene Giger was a “tall quiet Texan” even after his wife filed for divorce while he was in Iraq, his mom says.

Still, he was devastated.

“The only thing that I know is when she sued for divorce, she charged him with $2,000-a-month child support and insisted that he pay half of the house,” said Helen Giger, 71, of Chandler, east of Dallas. “And by the time she got through charging him with various things, he had very little money left over, not even hardly enough to pay for his rent.”

Authorities found Giger, 42, of Houston dead in his apartment near Fort Hood, hanging by necktie. He was one of at least 22 GIs from the post to commit suicide in 2010.

The Fort Hood mark is a new record for the post and contributed to the Army’s worst year for suicides. There was, however, a sign of hope in the grim tally. Slightly fewer active-duty soldiers died by their own hand compared with 2009. But there was bad news, too: The number of suicides in the National Guard and Army Reserve rose sharply.

The Army’s vice chief of staff, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, told the San Antonio Express-News that suicides at or near Fort Hood have increased as more soldiers have returned from combat.

Fort Hood’s 22 confirmed suicides, meanwhile, doubled its 2009 mark and was eight more than Fort Bragg, N.C., which had the second-largest tally.

And the Fort Hood mark could grow since some deaths haven’t been resolved. Others will remain mysteries, like that of Sgt. Bradley Dale Penman, 34, of Punxsutawney, Pa. Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin of Killeen said that Penman’s body, found last summer, was so decomposed no cause of death could be determined.


Read more: Hood, Army suicides hit record mark

Women Warriors Wellness Retreat

If you are thinking this is about getting you to become a member of this church, it isn't. I spoke with Major Leslie Haines, Executive Director of Lutheran Military Veterans and Family Ministries. This is all about helping to heal your soul.

This is part of the email I received.

I am the Executive Director of Lutheran Military Veterans and Families Ministries (www.lmvfm.org). I stumbled upon your video and would like to be able to incorporate it in a training program we have for civilian community care providers i.e., therapists, clergy, counselors, and those who are going into a like profession/vocation.

Our minsitry provides at no cost to veterans or their family members short term counseling and assistance, as well as resource assistance. Additionally, we provide a series of courses (Basic Training Seminars) for professionals and students.

We are a small non-profit ministry which I planted during my 2d year of seminary-which came after my second deployment.

She found me because of my videos on Great Americans. We talked for a long time, shared the same views and I feel truly blessed there is a group out there doing this work. The mind-body-spirit connection cannot be dismissed. Trauma is Greek for "wound" and it is a spiritual wound instead of a mental illness. It is caused by an outside force and is regarded as an anxiety disorder.

For women veterans there is more than one kind of trauma they experience during their service and that is sexual trauma. For all these years, women have been the least served even as their numbers increased. Now with talk of allowing women to serve in combat roles, their needs will increase even more. We can do better and this is a good start.

The Voice, Women at War

Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 10, 2009

Click to Play | View Details

Not all VA programs the same

Not all VA programs the same
January 20, 2011 posted by Chaplain Kathie
The Orlando VA had a meeting this morning on addressing the homeless veterans population. While all said that was being done sounds great I wondered why I am still asking the same question I have been asking for many years with no change happening. My question is why the VA does not do pro-active programs, like support groups and have educational meetings with families of veterans before it ever reaches the point where they become homeless. I didn’t really get an answer this morning either and none of the speakers brought up what is being done in other parts of the country by the VA like this.
Families At Ease
VA Program Helps Families Help Their Veterans
Do you know a Veteran who needs help?
“Families At Ease” is a new program developed by Department of Veterans Affairs that works with family members and friends of Veterans of any era to help them help their Veteran get care.
Many Veterans are reluctant to get help for the symptoms or difficulties they are having, or may not recognize their need for help.
It could be difficulty at work or at home, problems sleeping, driving too fast, or drinking too much. Or it could just be that they seem irritable or sad.
Whatever the problem, family members are often very aware of Veterans’ mental health difficulties and want to play a positive role in helping Veterans seek the help they need.
The “Families At Ease” educational campaign attempts to reach new Veterans through their concerned family members and provides information and support to help the Veteran access VA facilities for services and benefits.
A multi-site call center was developed at the Philadelphia, Pa. and Durham, N.C. VA Medical Centers to answer calls from family members and friends, as well as Veterans.
Callers can get information on how to enroll in VA care. They can also get free telephone-based coaching by a mental health consultant to help when a Veteran is reluctant to admit having difficulties.
According to Dr. Steven Sayers, “Familes At Ease” Director, “We take a positive approach to motivating the Veteran, which means while we work with the family member to motivate the Veteran, the choice to come in is always in the Veteran’s hands.”
Dr. Sayers is a Clinical Psychologist with the Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
VA Program Helps Families Help Their Veterans
Last year Congressmen Filner and Grayson had a meeting of their own here in Orlando. I asked Congressman Filner why I had to watch video after video on testimonies the House Veterans Affairs Committee had covering one heartbreaking story after another but I never heard any solutions or anything that worked. I asked why they never had families like mine talking about how to hold a family together and help their veteran heal or even how to understand what PTSD is. Again, while I was told it was a good point and was told the VA needed to put families like mine to work for them because we’ve been there and done that but nothing was done about it and it is doubtful there will ever be anything like that happening in Congress considering the leadership has changed.
read more here
Not all VA programs the same

Westboro Baptist Church set to protest funeral for slain New Jersey soldier

Westboro Baptist Church set to protest funeral for slain New Jersey soldier

A memorial service being held Saturday morning in New Jersey for Bordentown resident and soldier Benjamin Moore who was killed in action last week in Afghanistan. Moore was the first casualty from New Jersey in Afghanistan in 2011. His fueneral will be held Saturday morning at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Bordentown.
The Westboro Baptist Church has issued a bulletin identifying PFC Moore’s funeral to preach their message which is “Thank God For IED’s”. The zealots of the WBC will be met by the Patriot Guard Riders whose purpose is to shield the families of fallen soldiers from the insensitive and provocative protests of the WBC. They will be forming a flag line at the request of Moore’s family at the Friday night service and Saturday morning service.

read more here
Westboro Baptist Church set to protest funeral for slain New Jersey soldier

Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court

Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court
By Mike Wiser Lee Des Moines Bureau
DES MOINES - State support for free counseling services and establishing a mental health court that would cater to veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder are the top two priorities of the veterans lobby this year.
Steve Mulcahy, chairman of the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs, said he hopes to work with legislators this year for greater recognition of mental health issues many veterans face when they return from combat.
"PSTD is the main issue right now," Mulcahy said following a series of short speeches today by Gov. Terry Branstad and three of the four legislative leaders of the Veterans Affairs Committees in the House and Senate in the Capitol Rotunda.
"Last year we had legislation that any counseling visit by a veteran would be covered, but it didn't make it out by the end of session," Mulcahy said. "Every veteran goes through some readjustment when they return from deployment to what we call ‘the life' and we're working for greater support of that."
Mulcahy's presence and the speeches by the governor and lawmakers were part of the events set up for today's Veterans Day at the Capitol. Roughly 300 people, many of them wearing hats signifying the Legion or VFW post they belong to and the years of their military service listened to the speeches and browsed among the display tables set up by organizations such as the Gold Star Mothers.
read more here
Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court

Elderly Florida woman dragged by car caught on tape

VA Office Developing Innovative Patient-Centered Model of Care

VA Office Developing Innovative Patient-Centered Model of Care for
Veterans


Dr. Tracy Williams Gaudet to Lead Office




WASHINGTON (Jan. 19, 2011)-- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is
creating a new office to develop personal, patient-centered models of
care for Veterans who receive health care services at VA's more than
1,000 points of care across the Nation.

"VA has become one of the Nation's leaders in quality health care and is
increasingly cited as the standard to emulate," said VA Under Secretary
for Health Dr. Robert A. Petzel. "However, we must always continue to
find ways to deliver more with our systems to the incredible patients we
are honored to serve. We need to be data-driven, providing the
treatments and therapies with the best clinical evidence, and we need to
be patient-centered, never losing sight that we have been given the
noble mission to care for our Nation's Veterans, families and
survivors."

The new VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation
began operations on Jan. 17 and is based in Arlington, Va.

The office's director, Dr. Tracy Williams Gaudet, comes to VA from Duke
University Medical Center where she has served as the executive director
of Duke Integrated Medicine since 2001. Dr. Gaudet received her
Bachelor of Arts and medical degrees from Duke University.

"The VA's vision and commitment to cultural transformation comes at a
pivotal moment for health care in this country, and I am deeply honored
to be joining VA in this important work," said Dr. Gaudet. "The Office
of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation will be a living,
learning organization in which we will discover and demonstrate new
models of care, analyze the results, and then create strategies that
allow for their translation and implementation across the VA. VA will
continue to be a national leader in innovation, and, in this way, we
will provide the future of high-quality health care to our Veterans."

The VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation will
have four regional implementation teams at select VA medical centers
across the country: Birmingham, Ala; East Orange, N.J.; Dallas; and Los
Angeles.

Each VA medical center was selected for excellence already demonstrated
in producing cultures of patient-centered care based on established
criteria. These regional teams, comprised of patient-centered care
consultants, will be responsible for facilitating the culture change for
patient-centered care at all VA facilities.

Both teens were hit with the same bullet from dropped backpack

Jan. 18, 2011
Girl Critical after School Shooting Near L.A.
Gun Discharged at School after Student Dropped Backpack Carrying It, School Principal Says
AP) Updated at 9:37 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES - A gun in a 10th grader's backpack discharged Tuesday when he dropped the bag, wounding two students at a high school, including one who remained in critical condition, police said.

Both teens were hit with the same bullet, Los Angeles deputy police chief Patrick Gannon said.

John Deasy, deputy superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said there was no indication the student with the backpack had touched the gun before it discharged.

"He literally dropped his knapsack on the desk and it went off," Deasy said.

read more here
Girl Critical after School Shooting Near L.A.

Oviedo man also accused of sex attacks on missionary kids in Africa

Child-porn arrest: Oviedo man also accused of sex attacks on missionary kids in Africa
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) published a report accusing Samuel Shamba Warlick of sexually abusing children at a housing facility for missionary families in the Congo in the late 1980s.
January 14, 2011|By Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel

An Oviedo man with past ties to church missions in Africa was arrested by the FBI on child-pornography charges Friday.

The arrest of Samuel Shamba Warlick comes three months after the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) published a report unrelated to the FBI case accusing Warlick of sexually abusing children at a housing facility for missionary families in the Congo in the late 1980s.

Warlick, 39, made an appearance Friday afternoon in Orlando federal court and was ordered to be jailed until a hearing next week. He faces charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, and could be sentenced up to 30 years in prison if convicted.


According to court documents, law-enforcement officers began investigating Warlick in an undercover capacity online in December.

When agents searched his home Friday, Warlick told them he has possessed child pornography for the past 10 years and that he prefers boys who are between 13 and 16 years old.
read more here
Oviedo man also accused of sex attacks on missionary kids in Africa

Missing female sailor's body recovered in Gulf of Oman

Missing sailor's body recovered in Gulf of Oman
By the CNN Wire Staff
January 19, 2011 7:46 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The sailor was reported missing from the USS Halsey on Tuesday
British and American forces participated in the search

(CNN) -- The body of a U.S. Navy sailor, who was reported missing from a ship on Tuesday, was recovered Wednesday during search and rescue operations in the Gulf of Oman, the U.S. 5th Fleet said.
The sailor failed to report to watch Tuesday aboard the USS Halsey, the military said in a statement. "After a search of the ship, a man overboard was called away."

The sailor is a female, a U.S. military official told CNN Tuesday.

read more here
Missing sailor's body recovered in Gulf of Oman

Army to report rise in National Guard, Reserve suicides

Army to report rise in National Guard, Reserve suicides
From Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
January 19, 2011 8:13 a.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Report on suicides is to be released Wednesday, senior Army official says
Active-duty suicides declined in 2010, but rose among Reserve, National Guard
Increase was among stateside troops, most of whom were never in a war zone
Army doesn't have any answers for the discrepancy, official says
Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Army on Wednesday will report that while the number of suicides in the active-duty force declined in 2010, the number of suicides in the Army Reserve and National Guard increased, a senior Army official said.
The increase in Reserve and National Guard suicides is among troops who are in the United States and not activated for duty. The senior Army official said more than half of those troops were never deployed to a war zone.
read more here
Army to report rise in National Guard, Reserve suicides

PTSD I Grieve

Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 11, 2009

Click to Play | View Details

Army to implement new mental health screening procedures
By Charley Keyes, CNN
January 19, 2011 9:27 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The Pentagon will report on Army suicide rates for 2010 Wednesday
A study found pre-deployment screenings cut down on problems later
The soldier and unit both benefit from the screenings

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Army hopes it can do a better job of preventing mental health problems in the ranks with more aggressive screening of troops -- before they ship out to a war zone.
After nine years of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, the military is coping with a wave of mental health issues, from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression and suicide.
Army medical experts have been studying the results of a just-released study of the benefits of pre-deployment evaluation of soldiers and follow-up treatment while they were in Iraq. The study found that improved screening reduced later behavioral problems by 78% and reduced thoughts of suicide by more than half.
The service is struggling with a troubling suicide rate. At a news conference at the Pentagon later Wednesday, officials will report that while the number of suicides in the active-duty force declined in 2010, the number of suicides in the Army Reserve and National Guard increased, a senior Army official said.
read more of this here
Army to implement new mental health screening procedures

Missouri town bans protests during funerals

Does the Westboro group have the right to do what they want, say what they want, attack anyone they want? According to the ACLU, they have every right to stalk and harass families trying to bury their dead. I usually agree with the ACLU but in this case, they picked the wrong side to fight for. The families needed someone fighting for them to do something as simple as be able to have a funeral for someone they loved. That's all they are asking for. No one has said Westboro can't hold up protest signs or scream any kind of rant they want but what they do not deserve and are not entitled to is a right to demand the attention of a captive group of mourners. That is the point in all of this. The ACLU is fighting for the rights of this group to go where they want, do what they want so they can use their rights but in the process, they are preventing the rights of families who have to be there when Westboro does not. The ACLU is defending a group of stalkers wanting attention at any cost.

Keeping them away from the families during the funeral keeps them from getting attention and that is the only thing they want. But that again is the right of the media to cover them or not. Let them protest, hold up as many signs as this tiny group can hold, say anything they want to prove they have no relationship to Christ but not when the families are forced to see them, hear them and be harassed by them.

Missouri town bans protests during funerals
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 19, 2011 8:24:40 EST
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Despite the likelihood that it will be sued, an eastern Missouri city has voted to ban protests at funerals.

The St. Charles City Council voted Tuesday night to allow protests during visitations and street and highway processions. But protests will be banned within 300 feet of funeral and burial sites between an hour before and an hour after an observance.
read more here
Missouri town bans protests during funerals

2 Fort Hood soldiers killed by Iraqi trainee

2 Hood soldiers shot by Iraqi trainee ID'd
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 18, 2011 8:25:37 EST
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has released the identities of two Fort Hood soldiers officials say were shot dead by an Iraqi soldier they were training.

A Pentagon statement issued Monday says 23-year-old Sgt. Michael P. Bartley of Barnhill, Ill., and 43-year-old Spc. Martin J. Lamar of Sacramento, Calif., died when the trainee shot them with small-arms fire Saturday in Mosul, Iraq.
read more here
2 Hood soldiers shot by Iraqi trainee

Veterans warned about fake email circulating and may contain virus

Veterans warned about fake email circulating
By Press Release
Jan 18, 2011

Someone pretending to be an attorney with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is sending an email to military veterans “warning” them against using the services of a group called Veterans Affairs Services. BBB Military Line, a complaint resource specialized for the military and their families, has received several inquiries about the email.
read more here
Veterans warned about fake email circulating

Thieves steal bronze plaques from war memorial

How could they do it? Thieves steal bronze plaques from war memorial for brave veterans
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 11:14 AM on 18th January 2011

More than 600 names dating back to World War I listed
'It's heartbreaking,' says angry vet
Police are investigating the theft of eight bronze plaques from a foreign war memorial that stood proudly for decades as a tribute to the bravery of its troops.

Thieves have not only stolen the memorial plaques but they formed the only official list of all the veterans who died that belonged to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6919 in Morningside, Maryland.

'It's heartbreaking to have this happen to us', Post Commander and Vietnam veteran James Holland said.



Read more: Thieves steal bronze plaques from war memorial

Hepatitis C Cases Appearing More In Vietnam Veterans

Hepatitis C Cases Appearing More In Vietnam Veterans

By MIKE BOWERSOCK
Published: January 17, 2011

BEXLEY, Ohio --
It is becoming a battle that doesn't end for Vietnam veterans.

Medical writers researching VA medical centers claim that between 10 and 20 percent of veterans from the Vietnam era have hepatitis c.

"It can remain undetected, usually remains undetected for 20 to 30 years and then all of a sudden things start to show up with you," said Dennis Agin, who has the virus.

Agin is a navy veteran and was a doctor in Vietnam.

"I did unprotected surgery in Vietnam," said Agin.

In fact, that's where the disease is showing up: among medics from Vietnam.

"If they were medics and they went to a wounded person, they're going to get that person's blood on them and if they had a cut on their body or it went in their eyes they're going to pick up the disease," Agin said.

It is believed that the disease could have also been passed with air injection inoculations, but it is among the medical veterans where it is showing up more frequently.
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Hepatitis C Cases Appearing More In Vietnam Veterans

Bus driver told homeless veteran to get off the bus caught on video

A homeless veteran guy is told to get off the bus for NO REASON by the disrespectful bus driver of MTA in Baltimore, MD

He got on the bus with the money to pay for the ride. The drive covered the slot so he couldn't put his money in. His hand was shaking. He pleaded with the bus driver telling him it was cold outside but the driver kept telling him to get off.
It looks like this was shot with a cell phone and it should make us wonder how many other times this happens without a camera capturing all of it.

Parents plead guilty to stealing from severely injured Iraq war veteran

Parents plead guilty to stealing from severely injured Iraq war veteran
Michael and Lori Nault were also sentenced for the felony charge after admitting to gambling away at least $53,000 that belonged to their son
Posted: 8:54 PM Jan 18, 2011

The parents of a severely injured Iraq war veteran pleaded guilty to stealing from their son.

Michael and Lori Nault were then sentenced for the felony charge after admitting to gambling away at least $53,000 that belonged to Shane Nault.

On Tuesday, Eau Claire County Judge Lisa Stark sentenced Michael Nault to seven months in jail, two of which can be converted to community service. Lori Nault, who is Shane's primary caregiver, will do 400 hours community service in lieu of five months in jail. Both were also sentenced to three years of probation.

“I would like to take this time to apologize for everything we did wrong,” Michael Nault said in court, choking up at times. “We love our son, Your Honor, and we're sorry for what we've done and we ask that someday the community be able to forgive us.”

Michael Nault apologized to Shane, his fellow veterans and the community.
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Parents plead guilty to stealing from severely injured Iraq war veteran

Maine's family files suit over 12-13 shots by Baltimore police

Slain Marine's Family Sues Baltimore, Officer

Officer Charged With Killing Tyrone Brown

BALTIMORE -- Relatives of an unarmed man shot to death by a Baltimore police officer last summer have filed a multimillion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit.

Police Officer Gahiji Tshamba has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tyrone Brown, who was killed outside of the Eden Lounge in Mount Vernon on June 5.

The lawsuit named Tshamba, as well as his supervisors, police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld, Baltimore's mayor and City Council and the state of Maryland.

The lawsuit said Brown, who was with his sister and a friend, touched a female ahead of him in line while waiting to go inside the club. It said the woman expressed her displeasure, and that's when things began to escalate.

"Mr. Brown, who was home from Iraq, was trying to apologize and defuse the situation," said A. Dwight Pettit, the family's attorney. "The officer accosted him, identified himself as a Baltimore police officer, and shot at Mr. Brown approximately 12 or 13 times, killing him."

The lawsuit said Brown, 32, had his hands in the air and backed into an alley before Tshamba shot him at close range. It also said Brown's sister tried to intervene immediately before he was shot.
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Slain Marine's Family Sues Baltimore, Officer

Palin refuses to accept responsibility for what she says

They named the title of this article wrong. It should have been "Palin refuses to accept responsibility for what she says." Palin claims people want to shut her up but has yet to point out one single person getting in the way of her putting her foot in her mouth. She has every right to say anything she wants but people are discovering they don't have to listen to her or agree with everything she says. It's time for her to understand that she is responsible for what words come out of her mouth and will be held accountable for what she says. No one gets a free pass for using their "free speech" rights. After all, she wanted to be the Vice President and would have been held accountable for every word just as VP Biden is but you don't see him whining that anyone is trying to stop him from talking.

Palin explains 'blood libel' comment
She accuses critics of negative spin; vows to keep speaking out
WASHINGTON — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, defending herself against criticism following the Tucson, Ariz., shootings, said Monday that she used the term "blood libel" to describe comments made by those who falsely tried to link conservatives to the assassination attempt against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Speaking out for the first time since she used the term in a video, Palin said on Fox's Sean Hannity show that the term referred to those "falsely accused of having blood on their hands."
Some Jewish groups strongly protested her use of the term, which historically was used to accuse Jews of using blood of Christians in religious rituals.

"Just two days before, an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal had that term in its title. And that term has been used for eons," said Palin, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012.

"I think the critics again were using anything that they could gather out of that statement," she said. "You can spin up anything out of anybody's statements that are released and use them against the person who is making the statement."

Palin said the criticism won't stop her from speaking out and accusing Democrats of taking the country in the wrong direction.

"They can't make us sit down and shut up," she said.
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Palin explains blood libel comment