Arlington has 1 out of ten headstones wrong

March 30, 2011
CNN's Brooke Baldwin interviewed Mark Benjamin of Time Magazine about his recent article on the Arlington Cemetery mix-up.

Native American youth suicide crisis baffles

Native American youth suicide crisis baffles

Associated Press | Posted: Monday, March 21, 2011
POPLAR, Mont. -- Chelle Rose Follette fashioned a noose with her pajamas, tying one end to a closet rod and the other around her neck. When her mother entered the bedroom to put away laundry, she found the 13-year-old hanging.
Ida Follette screamed for her husband, Darrell.
He lifted his child's body, rushed her to the bed and tried to bring her back.
"She was so light, she was so light. And I put her down. I said, 'No, Chelle!'"
But the time had passed for CPR, he said, his voice fading with still raw grief. His wife sat next to him on the couch, sobbing at the retelling.
Here on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, a spasm of youth suicides had caused alarm and confusion even before Chelle's death.The Follettes had talked with her about other local children who had killed themselves. She had assured her parents that they need not worry about her.
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Native American youth suicide crisis baffles

Marine Corps Steps Up Suicide Prevention Efforts

When they deploy, they think they know all the risks. They know they can be killed. They know they can end up seriously wounded. They are aware there is a stress on their spouse while they are gone. To use this as an excuse for the growing number of suicides, simply does not make sense.

Why? Because too many young service members have taken their own lives without being connected to a spouse. What they all have in common is they were deployed and survived, but when they were supposed to be out of danger, they were really in greater danger. They were unarmed when they were attacked by the invader within their own minds.

While we have come a very long way in the last ten years addressing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the numbers show there is something missing. Until they actually discover what causes PTSD and really understand it, we will see the numbers continue to grow.

Marine Corps Steps Up Suicide Prevention Efforts to Halt Deadly Trend
By John Roberts
Published March 30, 2011
FoxNews.com

The note begins, “Grandpa, I just wanted to give you my thanks for being a great influence in my life.”

Former Marine Sgt. Dana O’Brien can barely make it through the first line before tears begin streaming down his face. It was sent from his grandson, Marine Cpl. Daniel O’Brien during one of his two tours of duty in Iraq.

On the surface, Cpl. O’Brien appeared to have a lot to live for. He was a good Marine with a promising career ahead of him. And he had a beautiful baby girl, Alexis, who, it is clear from the photographs of the two, really seemed to love her daddy.

But on the inside, O’Brien was tormented. His wife, also a Marine had recently left him. And after an altercation on base at the Marine Air Station in Buford, S.C., he thought his career was over. In July 2009, he took his own life.

O'Brien's death was part of an alarming trend: Fifty-two Marines committed suicide that year, a record high, and the military is still struggling to deal with an elevated suicide rate among those who serve.

As if suicide wasn’t enough of an issue in the military, the problem may extend beyond the services. Gen. Ray Carpenter commands the Army National Guard, where the incidence of suicide nearly doubled from 2009 to 2010.

Read more:
Marine Corps Steps Up Suicide Prevention Efforts

John Roberts did a report for FOX


Psychiatrists have told veterans that if they were not affected by what they went through, they would become a sociopath. While this in no way explains why some come home without suffering from PTSD, it was an easy out for them.

Point one they miss is age. The emotional part of the brain in all of us is not fully developed until the age of 25. Most of the men and women we send enter into the military right out of high school.

PTSD only comes after a traumatic event. It is not genetic. Growing up with someone with PTSD, especially untreated PTSD, is traumatic and can cause secondary PTSD.


Redeployments increase the risk of PTSD by 50%, which the Army discovered in 2006, but the practice continues.

This slide was from one of my videos, Wounded and Waiting.


Every effort has not been made to address this. They knew what redeployments would do but as they spent millions of dollars on programs with no evidence of them working, they expanded the list of like programs, recently shown to have been more "research" than treatment.

PTSD strikes. It is not caused by the veteran. Given what knowledge is available, including brain scans, there are key points missing in treating veterans of combat.

Providing knowledge is wonderful however the mistakes made originate with the wrong information being provided. Programs like Battle Mind begin by telling the servicemen and women that they can prevent PTSD by becoming "resilient" and preparing their minds. This not only did not work, it did more harm than good. It suggested to them that if they ended up with PTSD it was their fault.

Providing true knowledge of what PTSD is does in fact help them to heal faster and make peace with what they just went through.

Humans walk away from traumatic events one of two ways. They either believe they were saved by God/divine intervention/someone watching over them, or they believe they are suffering for a reason/in the wrong place at the wrong time/abandoned by God/targeted by God. Shock is what comes after traumatic events. Usually within 30 days, the shock wears off. While the person is changed by the event itself, they are not traumatized by it. Recovered, they take the event with them stronger for having survived it, more loving with a different idea of what is important, along with other good changes or they can go the other way. On the extreme end is the symptoms getting worse and taking over the life of the survivor.

The soul/spirit is connected to our emotions and must be addressed in healing. When psychologist listen to the event that haunts the veteran the most, they can address that, get the veteran to the place where they are able to "watch the whole movie" in their mind about what happened before the event, during it and after, so they can be able to find peace with what they did or what happened.

Forgiving themselves and being able to forgive others is necessary in healing. They need to be guided in achieving this. This can be done with mental health professionals and members of the clergy, as well as informed friends. If they are being judged at the same time they are blaming themselves, it feeds guilt already there and fuels what PTSD is already doing to them.

The military has a history of avoiding the emotions of the humans they turn into warriors. They plan and program training around changing them, breaking them as individuals to turn them into a unit, but no matter how much they want to delude themselves into thinking this can be achieved, they end up with a human suddenly afraid to be human.

History is full of civilizations honoring the human turned into warrior appreciating the gifts each one is capable of while still acknowledging the weakness of being just a human. When the military comes to terms with this fact, then there will be a lot less suffering from PTSD and a lot more healing it.

Families also play a key role in addressing the aftermath of trauma when they are included in on the treatment. Often the veteran will deny the seriousness of what is happening to them but the family can provide truth. They can also aid in the day to day lives of the veterans when they know what to do as well as what not to do once they understand what they need to know.

PTSD is complicated but there is so much more known now than ever before. We all need to be asking why the military keeps repeating the same mistakes instead of learning from them.

Copter crash kills 1 Marine, injures 3 off Hawaii

Copter crash kills 1 Marine, injures 3 off Hawaii
Sea Stallion plunges into the ocean; two survivors reported in critical condition


HONOLULU — One Marine was killed and three injured when a helicopter crashed into a bay on the coast of Oahu, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

The CH-53 D Sea Stallion, with four Marines aboard, crashed about 7:20 p.m. Hawaii time Tuesday, Maj. Alan Crouch, with the Marines' public affairs office in Hawaii, told NBC News.
read more here
Copter crash kills 1 Marine, injures 3 off Hawaii

Number of veterans involved with police standoffs grows

There are a a lot more stories out there but for the sake of time, I pulled some from my blog because I have been noticing an increase in police responding to veterans. The last year has shown a huge increase, which is a very troubling sign most of what is being done has not worked. Veterans Courts are great but they do no good if the police officers are not trained properly on how to help these veterans in order to get them into court alive. Take a look at some of the dates. I removed the last names other than Staff Sgt. Travis Twigg. His death was reported all over the country.

August 2006
Elio C, San Bernadino, Air Force, Iraq veteran

December 2006
James D, Maryland, Afghanistan veteran, 29 years old

September 2007
David M, Newberry Township PA, Vietnam veteran survived attempted suicide by cop

May 2008
Staff Sgt. Travis Twigg, 5 tours, killed himself and his brother at the Grand Canyon after police closed in. He had PTSD and even met President Bush.

June 2008
James G, Buffalo NY, Vietnam Vet, survivied

Randy K, Marine Reservist, Iraq veteran, Deputy Sheriff, arrested after fleeing to Chicago

July 2008
Unidentified Schofield soldier, 18 hour standoff ended without shots fired


February 2009
Marshall F, Portsmouth VA, Vietnam veteran

Spc. Jason J, Fort Bragg, survived

Spc. Larry Applegate, Widefield TX, standoff ended with suicide

July 2009
Unidentified veteran at Colmery-O’Neil VA, Topeka KS, no shots fired, survived

Ronnie C, Watauga TX, Vietnam vet, shots fired in 9 hour standoff, survived

Richard H, Cheyenne WY, Vietnam Vet

September 2009
Torrance B, Vicksburg MS, Iraq veteran

Spc. Jason C, Indiana National Guards, survived

October 2009
Andrew W, Lynn ID, Iraq veteran, survived

Jacob S, Muncie IND, Iraq home on leave, killed himself in movie theater after police were called

November 2009
John L, Iraq Veteran, Lake Stevens Washington, three tours. Shot after domestic disturbance.

Christopher M, 30, Iraq veteran, Baltimore, police chase



January 2010
Kenneth E, Albuquerque NM, Iraq veteran

February 2010
Raymond I, Cleveland OH, Air Force veteran,

March 2010
Gerald L, Houston, WWII veteran, survived

April 2010
Zachary H, Platte City MO, Iraq veteran, survived, standoff started when he called for help

May 2010
Joshua G, Volusia County FL, 30 years old, 10 year Army veteran, Iraq Veteran

Kenneth Y, Greeley CO, Vietnam veteran

Adam W, Eagle Point OR, Iraq Veteran

June 2010
Tyrone B, Baltimore MD, Marine, shot “12 or 13 times” Iraq veteran

July 2010
James P, 37, Togus VA Hospital Maine

Erik S, 39, Las Vegas West Point and Duke, shot by police


August 2010
Brandon B, Salt Lake City Utah, Afghanistan veteran


September 2010
Brock S, Minot ND, Iraq veteran survived attempted suicide by cop after standoff

Edward Z, 61, Baldwin PA Vietnam Vet

Spc. Nicholas L, Oregon National Guard, Iraq Veteran, 22 years old

Spc. Anthony J, Fort Carson, Colorado, survived

November 2010
Matthew H, Cooperstown ND, Gulf War veteran, survived

December 2010
Unidentified veteran, New Cumberland PA, veteran survived

Spc. Freddy H, Fayetteville NC, 20, shot himself outside of Police Administrative Building

January 2011
Thomas H, Portland OR, Vietnam Vet, homeless veteran, shot 12 times

February 2011
Anthony M, Oregon Army Reserves, 50 years old, Iraq veteran

March 2011
Jeremiah P, 24 Glendale AZ, Afghanistan veteran

Jermaine G, 29, Iraq veteran, police chase, Los Angeles

Unidentified “war veteran”, Laredo TX, survived standoff and taken to be helped.

With Veterans Courts there is hope but the challenge is getting them from police responding to stay alive long enough to get to one of them. There are more and more law enforcement officials talking these veterans to the VA hospital instead of jail, so that helps too.

For the veteran already in jail, the VA is trying to address that too.

VA Extends Post-Incarceration Health Care

Measure Would Help Reduce Repeat Offenses

WASHINGTON (March 30, 2011)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
will extend health care to eligible Veterans in halfway houses and other
temporary, post-incarceration housing under a new program aimed at
cutting back on repeat offenses.

"There's hard evidence that lack of access to health care, including
mental health care, for newly released inmates is a factor in people
becoming homeless or returning to prison and jail," said Jim McGuire,
director of VA's Veterans Justice Outreach Programs. "These are Veterans
who otherwise qualify for VA health care."

A long-standing rule has barred VA from providing health care to
Veterans for whom another federal, state or local government has an
obligation to provide health care. Frequently, that means inmates of
prisons and jails.

Under the changed rule, that prohibition would be amended and VA would
be allowed to provide health care to Veterans in halfway houses and
other temporary, post-incarceration housing.

An Urban Institute study in 2008 found that good health care in the
first months of community reentry played a key role in easing
readjustment and reducing recidivism.

About 29,000-56,000 Veterans are released annually from state and
federal prisons, and at least 90,000 Veterans are released each year
from city and county jails, according to Department of Justice's Bureau
of Justice Statistics.

Chaplain talks about his own PTSD

Invisible wounds of war
Del. ministry works to bring attention to silent cost
1:56 AM, Mar. 30, 2011
Written by
GARY SOULSMAN
The News Journal
As a chaplain of the 512th Airlift Wing, Lt. Col. John W. Groth made certain that the remains of fallen military personnel were given a dignified transfer at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary.

It was his role to pray during the arrival of a flag-draped transfer case and be present during the examination of remains. He was ready to listen if mortuary staff needed to talk about how hard it was to deal with the sights, sounds and smells of death.

"I was absolutely proud of seeking to bring dignity, honor and respect to my role at the base," said Groth, a reservist who saw off-and-on service at the mortuary over eight years.

By 2009, he was part of a base team that had processed more than 4,500 remains from the nation's conflicts. The mortuary is an operations center for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in some ways working in the mortuary is like a funeral home.

But combat death can batter human tissue with horrific force, and that leaves a lasting impression when body bags are opened. And while Groth became accustomed to looking after others, he was not tuned into the subtleties of his own well-being.
read more here
Invisible wounds of war

Vietnam veterans get an official welcome day

Vietnam veterans get an official welcome day
7:15 AM, Mar. 29, 2011
Written by
R. NORMAN MOODY
FLORIDA TODAY


When Franck Kaiser came home from the Vietnam War, a clerk fired obscenities at him instead of giving him change for $20 so he could call his family and let them know he was home safely.

Kaiser had arrived on a charter flight to Travis Air Force Base and was bused to San Francisco International Airport, where he would take another flight to get to Fort Hood, Texas, after being awarded three Purple Hearts for injuries suffered during a year at war.

Many Vietnam veterans encountered the same kind of hostility and indifference when they returned home to a nation deeply divided politically over the war.

On Wednesday, 36 years after the last Marines and others withdrew from Saigon, the nation will recognize "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day," thanks to a resolution unanimously passed by the U.S. Senate.

It's not a national holiday, and some local veterans were caught unaware of the resolution in which the senators encourage Americans to recognize the sacrifices of Vietnam veterans.

"We weren't welcomed very well, so it's good that the Senate chose to recognize our homecoming," said Kaiser, 66, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Home Builders and Contractors Association of Brevard. "I think its great."
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Vietnam veterans get an official welcome day

Home is a different place when they come back

Home is a different place when they come back

When they come home, sooner or later, they want to go back. They wanted to go back to Vietnam. They wanted to go back to Afghanistan. They wanted to go back to Iraq. Why? Why would anyone want to go back to where they were considering their lives were on the line everyday? You'd think they would want to just go back to the lives they had before. It's an easy assumption to make but you'd have to consider that they are no longer the same person to understand why they want to go back. Home is a different place.

The place they lived in is the same. The family and friends they left are still the same. They are no longer the same. Profound changes happened in the way they think about everything because of their experiences. They stopped being "Joe" the civilian high school student worrying about passing a test or scoring a prom date. They became "GI Joe" worrying about staying alive. Instead of being able to go back, pick up their lives where they left off, nothing is ever the same.

Readjustment after combat is a tough thing to do but it is almost impossible if they cannot make peace with the changes that happened within.

Let's take a look at our own lives and how things are different for us.

A new Mom comes back from the hospital with her baby and we know her life will never be the same. She has a baby to worry about, wake up for, take care of and for the rest of her life, she is responsible to do the best she can for her son or daughter. The moment she walks into her home, life as she knew it, ended. People understand why the baby comes first.

A family walks around what is left of their home after a tornado destroyed it. They find a couple of things they had in the ruins and they know their lives will never be the same. They will live in another place, buy different things, but they will never again feel as if anything is forever. Their values change. They know that the things they had really don't matter when they are gone. People understand why they know longer place so much importance on "stuff" they own.

Death is another changer. A wife buries her husband after 50 years together. Life as she knew it ended. She starts another chapter of her life alone. People understand why she no longer wants to come for a visit or starts to do other things to fill up her days.

We can understand these changes but we can't understand when a man or woman comes back from a strange country where they saw so much. We expect them to be the same. We don't expect them to think differently, dream differently or act differently. When they act out of the ordinary, we are not able to understand as much as we are able to regarding other people.

All of us need to open our eyes and help them to find peace with the changes inside of themselves they cannot heal as much as we need to help them heal what they can.

Be there to listen when they want to talk and only for as long as they want to talk about it. When they want to change the subject, let them.

Stop telling them to get over it or to put it behind them.

Stop wanting them to go back to the way they were before.

Allow them to make choices.

If they don't want to go someplace, go by yourself without anger or hurt feelings.

If they need to sit in a certain place at a restaurant, let them sit where they feel comfortable.

If there seems to be bigger issues going on, then find out what PTSD is and learn how to help them as much as you need to know how to help yourself.

Help home to be a place where they feel as if they belong again.

Homeless Advocate can’t account for funds donated

This gets me very angry. I tried for the last couple of years to raise enough in donations to cover my expenses the right way and ended up losing. I traveled a lot, but now I don't go unless someone pays for me to come. I just can't afford to do it anymore. The money I paid out of my pocket ended up being a deduction for the organization I belonged to and I couldn't find any financial support. That is why the PayPal link is gone. I am still not sure if I'll open another account or attempt to have a non-profit of my own ever again. I lost over a $1,000 every year but here is someone accused of doing it the wrong way but getting support. Maybe it is true that it is not what you know, but who you know because even if he knew how to work the system, he would have to have had someone supporting him, giving him publicity and connections to raise funds. So who was behind this charity giving him support and how do they feel about this report?

Homeless Advocate can’t account for funds donated to help the Homeless – Part-1
March 27, 2011 posted by Terry Richards

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The Rev. Bruce Wright, a well-known local Homeless Advocate who has been soliciting donations for many years under the guise that they were IRS 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Charities whose programs are supposed to help the poor and homeless, including homeless Veterans, who when asked by this Reporter, could not or would not produce IRS Forms 990 or any other Financial Statements nor any kind of Registration of these Charities with the IRS and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDOACS) WHICH IS REQUIRED BY IRS AND Florida Charity Laws. The responses I received from Wright are set forth below at the end of this story.

A search for Wright’s most recent 2011 Incorporated Non-Profit called the REFUGE COLLECTIVE found that it’s only registered with The Florida Secretary of State as a Non-Profit Corporation but is not registered with the IRS or FDOACS.

Additionally, a search for Refuge Ministries and The Refuge for which Wright is well-known in associating, and advertising and soliciting donations, are not registered with the FDOACS or IRS. And Sanctuary Youth Center which Wright advised me in one of his e-mail responses below are not listed under the auspices of the Florida Baptist Convention which Wright told they were.

read more here
Homeless Advocate can’t account for funds donated

Another PTSD Veteran killed by police after shootout

Friends: Man Killed by Police Officer Struggled With PTSD
Suspect shot man outside of bar

Updated: Sunday, 27 Mar 2011, 6:19 PM MDT
Published : Sunday, 27 Mar 2011, 3:25 PM MDT

A man killed in a shootout with a Glendale police officer in the west valley early Saturday morning was apparently struggling with post traumatic stress disorder.

Jeremiah Wilson Pulaski, 24, of Glendale was shot to death after several rounds were exchanged between him and the officer.

FOX 10 has learned that Pulaski was a military veteran who returned to the U.S. in January, and he was having a difficult time dealing with the stress from his deployment and return.

Police said Pulaski had been involved in another shooting outside a Glendale restaurant just moments before he was stopped by the officer.

read more here
Man Killed by Police Officer Struggled With PTSD

The Arizona Senator, the man who wanted to be President, none other than John McCain said, "maybe you need this in New Jersey, but we don't need this in Arizona" when asked why he as against the suicide prevention bill. You'd think that as a Senator, he'd be very aware of what veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan come home with. It isn't just suicides but crimes committed because they didn't get the help they needed. Jeremiah Pulaski knew how to use a weapon but the man he shot was not killed, suggesting he didn't want to kill him. The man he shot was still shot over some words said. Pulaski's family and friends are left stunned by what happened as they prepare for a funeral that didn't need to happen. Police officers are dealing with a shooting that didn't need to happen.

Man killed in Glendale police shooting was war veteran

by Luci Scott - Mar. 27, 2011 03:52 PM
The Arizona Republic

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/03/27/20110327glendale-phoenix-man-killed-shooting-police-veteran0328.html#ixzz1HtboC1Sl
Ann Lupeika says that even though her step-nephew died in Phoenix, Jeremiah Pulaski was a victim of the war in Afghanistan.

Pulaski was fatally shot early Saturday morning by a Glendale police sergeant who authorities said was returning fire.

Pulaski 24, had recently returned from an Army stint in Afghanistan.


"He's my hero," said Lupeika. "I feel really bad that it came down to whatever happened that night."

Police said that about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Jeremiah Wilson Pulaski and a friend left Tony's Cocktail Lounge near 59th Avenue and Greenway Road. A man approached them and the conversation turned hostile. Pulaski drew a handgun and shot the man, who did not suffer life-threatening injuries, police said.



Read more: Man killed in Glendale police shooting was war veteran