Vietnam Vet talks about tainted water at Camp Lejeune

Marines exposed to tainted water

When you can see our troubles are the same

In the words of Cheers, I'm always glad you came.

editorial by
Chaplain Kathie

Where Everybody Knows Your Name by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo - Cheers Lyrics
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

This is a place where you can see our troubles are all the same, or at least, pretty close to it. This blog is here for a lot of reasons but the biggest one is broadcast media. I was so tired of complaining they are not paying attention to anyone serving and even less when it comes to veterans. I was tired of reading a story out of the other side of the country and then finding another one right here with no one connecting the two together. I always thought there should be one place where all of these news reports, mostly done by local reporters in tiny newsrooms, so that secrets would end.

When it comes to PTSD, if you believe you are the only one with it, you feel alone but if you find some place where others are going through it too, the world is not so lonely for you. You can find the good, bad and the ugly but most of all I try to give you hope.

Now, frankly, I have not been very good at promoting this blog. I could excuse this by pointing out there are only so many hours in the day, so the more I spent away from posting, the less that gets covered. If I did that, I wouldn't be totally honest. I've never been good at self-promoting and I don't enjoy it at all. It has taken many weeks of thinking about doing this to get up the gumption to do it now.

I don't get paid to do this. I was so lousy at asking for donation that I lost my tax exempt because I couldn't even afford to renew it. There is something I do need from you and it won't cost you a dime. It will only cost you the time to subscribe and forward an email. That's all I want back from you.

When you subscribe you get a daily email with all the posts done that day. This blog moves fast so it is hard to keep up with it. With the alert, you have the link right there. If you think a story is important, pass it on with the link back and this way, reporters will know what you think it's important. This site is all about YOU! Let them know these stories do matter to you. You are also letting me know what kind of stories matter to you by the number of hits the post gets.

Wounded Times will be 4 years old in August. Help me get to 1,000 subscribers by then. Email me at namguardianangel@aol.com and let me know what's on your mind or leave a comment on a post so that I know what you want to find here.

Naval Center Wants To Change Attitudes To Combat Stress

Naval Center Wants To Change Attitudes To Combat Stress
BY ALISON ST JOHN
June 2, 2011
Military leaders at Camp Pendleton are evaluating a new program, developed for Marines returning from combat in Afghanistan. The Navy, which provides medical care for the Marines, wants to find ways to tackle potential problems early.

Photo by Alison St John
Above: Captain Scott Johnston Director of Naval Center for Operational and Combat Stress Control,

May 31st 2011
Capt. Scott Johnston, director of the Naval Center for Combat and Operational Stress Control in San Diego, said he wants to create a sea change in attitudes about mental stress. He’s working with Camp Pendleton on a model program to better identify signs of combat stress.

“The initial goal was to de-stigmatize that,” Johnston said. “It’s not like you have to say, ‘Oh, I have a problem, I’ve got to talk to mental health.‘ It’s like, ‘hey, you come back, you get your gun checked to make sure that it’s operating property, we’re going to send you over to the mental health guys to make sure that everything’s ok upstairs too.’"
read more here
Naval Center Wants To Change Attitudes To Combat Stress

Warren "Hawkeye" Fordham fought diabetes to serve his country

Warren Fordham: Diabetes was Navy officer's constant foe

By Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel
June 3, 2011

SANFORD — Warren J. Fordham fought diabetes to serve his country.

The retired lieutenant commander, who once piloted bombers and oversaw operations at the Pinecastle Bombing Range in the Ocala National Forest, also was an insulin-dependent diabetic forced to prove his fitness for duty every year during the final decade of a 30-year career, said his son, Michael Fordham, 63.

"He loved his country," Michael Fordham said. "He would not let it stop him."

Warren Fordham, 84, who lived the past 50 years in Sanford, where he first was assigned to the former Naval Air Station, died Tuesday from complications from a stroke. He struggled with diabetes for more than 50 years.

Fordham, known affectionately by the nickname "Hawkeye" for his sharpshooting basketball skills in high school, enlisted in the Navy as a teenager near the end of World War II and worked his way up the chain of command until the disease threatened to derail his career.

Fordham refused to leave the service — even hiring a military lawyer to argue his case in Washington and extend his career, his son said.

The Navy ultimately allowed him to stay, with some restrictions.

The former pilot and navigator, for instance, was no longer permitted to fly an airplane because of the disease's potential risks. But he became an inspector of aircraft carriers and performed other non-combat duties.

"He was all about duty, honor, country and family," said his daughter, Robin Crockett, 62, of Sanford.
Diabetes was Navy officer's constant foe

Military radios interfering with garage door openers

Military radios interfering with garage door openers
Homeowners in coastal Orange County are among the latest to discover this quirk. Signals from Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach have been interfering with remote openers as far as half a mile away.

By Mike Anton, Los Angeles Times
May 28, 2011

Garage door remote not working? The Pentagon may be to blame.

Not because of any grand conspiracy theory, but rather the mundane use of a radio frequency the military hadn't used much before.

Homeowners in coastal Orange County are among the latest to discover this quirk. There, signals from Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach have been interfering with garage door openers as far as half a mile away since March.

That's when testing began on a new radio system that will allow the base to network with local fire and police agencies during emergencies. The frequency falls in the range of 380-399.9 megahertz, a band long reserved for the Department of Defense but rarely used.
read more here
Military radios interfering with garage door openers

Korean War Veteran Dies While Replacing Flag on Memorial Day

National Interest
Korean War Veteran Dies While Replacing Flag at Ohio Home on Memorial Day
Published June 02, 2011
FoxNews.com

An 83-year-old Korean War veteran died on Memorial Day while trying to replace a weathered American flag outside his Ohio home, his family said Thursday.
James Catron, of Richville, Ohio, died of natural causes as he was replacing the tattered flag on his 20-foot TV tower with a new one, his daughter, Sharon Harold, told FoxNews.com.
"He served his country and he thought it was so important to display the flag, " Harold said. "He was so proud to be a veteran."

(note:Firefighters came back and finished it for him)
Read more: Korean War Veteran Dies While Replacing Flag

Officials respond to concern over new Walter Reed operating rooms

BRAC: Officials respond to concern over new Walter Reed operating rooms
Darci Marchese, WTOP reporter

WASHINGTON - The Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical says there will be more than enough operating rooms to treat wounded warriors post-BRAC.

It released the following statement Thursday morning:

"Based on projections for casualty care and historical usage rates, seven and a half ORs are utilized for Wounded Warrior surgical care between the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center facilities. We have a sufficient number of ORs now and will have enough ORs in the late Summer/Early Fall to care for Wounded Warriors as we transition and integrate patients and staff into the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.

"Bethesda has developed a detailed plan to defer elective surgeries in Aug 2011 during the BRAC transition to ensure that Wounded Warrior care is not impacted. Additionally, surgical leaders from WRAMC, Bethesda, and Fort Belvoir will utilize a number of ambulatory operating rooms for same day surgeries in the National Capital Region such as those at Malcolm Grow Air Force Medical Center and the Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center during the BRAC transition period.
read more here
Officials respond to concern over new Walter Reed operating rooms

Veterans need to know what they paid for

If you served in the military and ended up wounded or hurt because of it, then you need to know what you should be getting from the VA. This is not a hand out. You paid the price when you served. We owe you!

There is a lot of confusion about billing private insurance companies for medical care when you go to the VA.  Here is the answer to that part.

Private Health Insurance Billing

VA is required to bill private health insurance providers for medical care, supplies and prescriptions provided for treatment of veterans’ non-service-connected conditions. Generally, VA cannot bill Medicare, but can bill Medicare supplemental health insurance for covered services. VA is not authorized to bill a High Deductible Health Plan (which is usually linked to a Health Savings Account).

All veterans applying for VA medical care are required to provide information on their health insurance coverage, including coverage provided under policies of their spouses. Veterans are not responsible for paying any remaining balance of VA’s insurance claim not paid or covered by their health insurance, and any payment received by VA may be used to offset “dollar for dollar” a veteran’s VA copay responsibility.

Here are some more things you should know.

Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors
Chapter 1 VA Health Care Benefits

VA operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system with more than 1,400 sites of care, including hospitals, community clinics, community living centers, domiciliary, readjustment counseling centers, and various other facilities. For additional information on VA health care, visit: www.va.gov/health.

Basic Eligibility

A person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable may qualify for VA health care benefits. Reservists and National Guard members may also qualify for VA health care benefits if they were called to active duty (other than for training only) by a Federal order and completed the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty.

Minimum Duty Requirements: Veterans who enlisted after Sept. 7, 1980, or who entered active duty after Oct. 16, 1981, must have served 24 continuous months or the full period for which they were called to active duty in order to be eligible. This minimum duty requirement may not apply to veterans discharged for hardship, early out or a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.

Enrollment

For most veterans, entry into the VA health care system begins by applying for enrollment. To apply, complete VA Form 10-10EZ, Application for Health Benefits, which may be obtained from any VA health care facility or regional benefits office, on line at www.1010ez.med.va.gov/sec/vha/1010ez/ or by calling 1-877-222-VETS (8387). Once enrolled, veterans can receive health care at VA health care facilities anywhere in the country.

Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system are afforded privacy rights under federal law. VA’s Notice of Privacy Practices, which describes how VA may use and disclose veterans’ medical information, is also available on line at www.va.gov/vhapublications/viewpublication.asp?pub_ID=1089

The following four categories of veterans are not required to enroll, but are urged to do so to permit better planning of health resources:

Veterans with a service-connected disability of 50 percent or more.
Veterans seeking care for a disability the military determined was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, but which VA has not yet rated, within 12 months of discharge.
Veterans seeking care for a service-connected disability only.
Veterans seeking registry examinations (Ionizing Radiation, Agent Orange, Gulf War/Operation Iraqi Freedom and Depleted Uranium).
Priority Groups

During enrollment, each veteran is assigned to a priority group. VA uses priority groups to balance demand for VA health care enrollment with resources. Changes in available resources may reduce the number of priority groups VA can enroll. If this occurs, VA will publicize the changes and notify affected enrollees. A description of priority groups follows:

Group 1: Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 50 percent or more and/or veterans determined by VA to be unemployable due to service-connected conditions.

Group 2: Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 30 or 40 percent.

Group 3: Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 10 and 20 percent; veterans who are former Prisoners of War (POW) or were awarded a Purple Heart medal; veterans awarded special eligibility for disabilities incurred in treatment or participation in a VA Vocational Rehabilitation program; and veterans whose discharge was for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.

Group 4: Veterans receiving aid and attendance or housebound benefits and/or veterans determined by VA to be catastrophically disabled.

Group 5: Veterans receiving VA pension benefits or eligible for Medicaid programs, and non service-connected veterans and non-compensable, zero percent service-connected veterans whose gross annual household income and/or net worth are below the VA national income threshold and geographically-adjusted income threshold for their resident area.

Group 6: Veterans of World War I; veterans seeking care solely for certain conditions associated with exposure to ionizing radiation during atmospheric testing or during the occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; for any illness associated with participation in tests conducted by the Department of Defense (DoD) as part of Project 112/Project SHAD; veterans with zero percent service-connected disabilities who are receiving disability compensation benefits and veterans who served in a theater of combat operations after Nov. 11, 1998 as follows:

Veterans discharged from active duty on or after Jan. 28, 2003, who were enrolled as of Jan. 28, 2008 and veterans who apply for enrollment after Jan. 28, 2008, for 5 years post discharge
Veterans discharged from active duty before Jan. 28, 2003, who apply for enrollment after Jan. 28, 2008, until Jan. 27, 2011
Group 7: Veterans with gross household income below the geographically-adjusted income threshold (GMT) for their resident location and who agree to pay copays.

Group 8: Veterans with gross household income and/or net worth above the VA national income threshold and the geographic income threshold who agree to pay copays.

Note: Due to income relaxation rules implemented on June 15, 2009 Veterans with household income above the VA national threshold or the GMT income threshold for their resident location by 10 percent or less, who agree to pay copays, are eligible for enrollment in Priority Group 8.

The GMT thresholds can be located at: http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/library/pubs/gmtincomethresholds.


Recently Discharged Combat Veterans

Veterans, including activated reservists and members of the National Guard, are eligible for the enhanced “Combat Veteran” benefits if they served on active duty in a theater of combat operations after November 11, 1998, and have been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions.

Effective Jan. 28, 2008, combat veterans discharged from active duty on or after Jan. 28, 2003, are eligible for enhanced enrollment placement into Priority Group 6 (unless eligible for higher enrollment Priority Group placement) for five-years post discharge.

Veterans with combat service after Nov. 11, 1998, who were discharged from active duty before Jan. 28, 2003, and who apply for enrollment on or after Jan. 28, 2008, are eligible for this enhanced enrollment benefit through Jan. 27, 2011. During this period of enhanced enrollment benefits, these veterans receive VA care and medications at no cost for any condition that may be related to their combat service.

Veterans who enroll with VA under this “Combat Veteran” authority will retain enrollment eligibility even after their five-year post discharge period ends. At the end of their post discharge period, VA will reassess the Veteran’s information (including all applicable eligibility factors) and make a new enrollment decision. For additional information, call 1-877-222-VETS (8387).

click the links to find out more of what you should be getting

Afghanistan War IEDs Cause Surge In Double Amputees

Afghanistan War IEDs Cause Surge In Double Amputees Among U.S. War Wounded

David Wood
woodwriter@hotmail.com


American soldiers and Marines walking combat patrols in Afghanistan have suffered a surge of gruesome injuries, losing one or both legs and often their genitals to crude homemade bombs Taliban insurgents bury in dirt roads and pathways.

In some cases, American military surgeons tell The Huffington Post, these traumatic amputations occur so close to soldiers' hips that it is difficult to fit prosthetic legs, severely limiting the patients' future mobility and rehabilitation. In addition, the loss of sexual function for formerly healthy young men in their early 20s causes severe anxiety and depression and can wreck new marriages.

The latest wave of severe injuries comes after Gen. David Petraeus ordered U.S. troops in Afghanistan last year to get out of their protective armored vehicles and start walking. "Patrol on foot whenever possible and engage the population," he directed in guidance to his troops last August.

The order was hailed as an essential counterinsurgency tactic used to get closer to the people, pick up intelligence more effectively and demonstrate American resolve to protect local villagers from Taliban insurgents.

But the enemy -- as Petraeus himself is fond of saying -- gets a vote, and the insurgents have attacked the dismounted patrols with a vengeance, planting lethal bombs inches beneath the dusty soil where a footstep can detonate them in blinding flashes.
read more here
Afghanistan War IEDs Cause Surge In Double Amputees

Another PTSD Vet shot by police

Family of Matthew Speese, shot by officer, says he suffered from 'post traumatic stress disorder'
Published: Thursday, June 02, 2011,
By John Tunison
The Grand Rapids Press

In the statement released through a funeral home, family members said they mourn his loss and described him as a "proud veteran marine" who served during the Gulf War.

MONTCALM COUNTY -- In a statement released this afternoon, the family of the 47-year-old Howard City man shot and killed by an officer said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
read more here
Matthew Speese, shot by officer

Updated: Officer-Involved Shooting
MONTCALM COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A Montcalm County man is dead following a stand-off with police.

Officers were called out to 47-year-old Matthew Speese's home near Howard City just after 5:00 pm Wednesday. About two hours later, Speese was shot and killed.

Speece, an ex-Marine, was fatally shot by a deputy, but there are still a great many questions about how it happened.

A neighbor tells Newschannel 3 that he heard four to five shots fired, another neighbor says they heard indications that Speese had a few guns on hand when deputies arrived at his home in the woods on West Gates Road.

“He had come out with a long gun on his deck,” said neighbor Edward Haack, “and then he had a pistol and then he went upstairs to get a better view of what was going on outside.”
read more here
Officer-Involved Shooting