JARDINE: Despite fighting in wars apart, two veterans find they're brothers in arms
By Jeff Jardine
Two weeks ago, when The Bee invited Vietnam War veterans to share their experiences in Southeast Asia, we knew we'd get some compelling responses and moving stories.
We have. None, though, may be more moving and compelling than this one:
Four years ago, Army vet Ronn Cossey of Turlock was invited to ride in the parade and speak at the annual Veterans Car Show at Pismo Beach. The event raises money to aid veterans.
There he met Zeb Lane of Ohio, who had served in the Marines' Lima Company in Iraq. Lane's unit lost 23 men — 14 in a single explosion — in 2005. Lane was among the 40 survivors wounded in the fighting around Haditha.
He had come to Pismo Beach to auction artwork to benefit the Lima Company Memorial to be built in Columbus.
These men, who fought in different wars in different decades, spent hours talking that weekend. They compared battle notes and what has happened to them since leaving the military. They became friends. They formed a bond.
In Lane, the 63-year-old Cossey saw a younger version of himself — a veteran who experienced the horrors of war and will deal with them for the rest of his life.
In Cossey, the 30-year-old Lane found someone who understands combat, fought the internal war that followed, and who can help him navigate the emotional no-man's land of post-traumatic stress disorder.
War does horrible things to good people, and many simply cannot turn in their demons when they muster out and return to civilian life.
Read more:Despite fighting in wars apart
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Defense tries to blame PTSD on what the Ohio serial killer did
A serial killer is not "normal" no matter what they use to excuse what they do. No one in their right mind would be able to do such horrible things and then wake up the next morning as if it was just part of an average day unless there was truly something wrong with their mind but while Sowell very well may have PTSD, it is very unlikely that's all that's wrong with him.
Serial killers show signs growing up. They don't just "snap" or decide, "hey, I need something to do today so I'll go out and butcher someone" to break up the day. How about this guy is evil? How about he has no soul? He's a sex offender, killer and then topped all that off with abusing the corpse. Not convicted of killing one woman but in killing 11 of them.
For all the compassion and understanding we have for veterans with PTSD, to excuse all of this as a byproduct of PTSD, is a lawyer so desperate to save this man's life, he'll try to blame everything but the man himself for what he did. He must have not noticed there are millions of veterans with PTSD but not millions of serial killers.
Serial killers show signs growing up. They don't just "snap" or decide, "hey, I need something to do today so I'll go out and butcher someone" to break up the day. How about this guy is evil? How about he has no soul? He's a sex offender, killer and then topped all that off with abusing the corpse. Not convicted of killing one woman but in killing 11 of them.
For all the compassion and understanding we have for veterans with PTSD, to excuse all of this as a byproduct of PTSD, is a lawyer so desperate to save this man's life, he'll try to blame everything but the man himself for what he did. He must have not noticed there are millions of veterans with PTSD but not millions of serial killers.
Defense tries to depict Ohio serial killer as mentally ill in bid to avoid death penalty
By Associated Press, Updated: Sunday, July 31, 2:53 PM
CLEVELAND — Defense attorneys are trying to spare the life of an ex-Marine convicted of killing 11 women by painting him as someone who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses.
The sentencing phase of trial begins on Monday for Anthony Sowell, a sex offender who was found guilty July 22 of murdering the women and abusing their corpses, which were hidden in his home and buried in his backyard.
The jury, which sat through weeks of disturbing and emotional testimony, saw photographs of the victims’ blackened, skeletal corpses lying on autopsy tables and listened to police describe how their bodies had been left to rot in a home that smelled so bad neighbors complained — believing the source of the stench was rotting meat from a nearby sausage shop.
Now the defense wants to convince jurors that Sowell, who exhibited little emotion during the trial, was mentally ill and doesn’t deserve to die. If the jurors don’t decide on the death penalty, Sowell faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
read more here
Defense tries to depict Ohio serial killer as mentally ill
Stars and Stripes wants to know: Did you join the military because of 9-11?
Did you join the military in response to the 9/11 attacks?
Stars and Stripes
Published: July 25, 2011
Stars and Stripes: Servicemembers of 9/11
Did you join the U.S. military because of the September 11 attacks?
If so, Stars and Stripes wants to know your story.
go here to fill out form
Did you join the military in response to the 9/11 attacks
Stars and Stripes
Published: July 25, 2011
Stars and Stripes: Servicemembers of 9/11
Did you join the U.S. military because of the September 11 attacks?
If so, Stars and Stripes wants to know your story.
go here to fill out form
Did you join the military in response to the 9/11 attacks
Camp Pendleton Marines counter nudist beach invasion
Marines counter nudist beach invasion
Published: July 30, 2011
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., July 30 (UPI) -- The Marines say the beach at Camp Pendleton in San Diego is off limits to civilians whether they are wearing clothes or not.
The Los Angeles Times said the Corps has found itself in the middle of a beef between civilian nude sunbathers who say California state park rangers have crossed on to federal land to order them to cover up.
Read more:
Marines counter nudist beach invasion
Published: July 30, 2011
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., July 30 (UPI) -- The Marines say the beach at Camp Pendleton in San Diego is off limits to civilians whether they are wearing clothes or not.
The Los Angeles Times said the Corps has found itself in the middle of a beef between civilian nude sunbathers who say California state park rangers have crossed on to federal land to order them to cover up.
Read more:
Marines counter nudist beach invasion
Canadian inquest calls for 24 hour police link with mental health access
Inquest jury calls for mental-health link for police
By Danielle Bell, Postmedia News July 31, 2011
Following the death of a 48-yearold Nanaimo man - shot and killed by police in October 2009 - a jury has recommended setting up a 24-hour link for police to access mental-health information.
In a special inquest looking into the shooting of Jeff Hughes, the jury also recommended that officers be held accountable faster to reduce inconsistencies. It suggested video and audio recording equipment be provided to police and called for having a emergency response team and negotiators available at all times.
Read more:
Inquest jury calls for mental health link
By Danielle Bell, Postmedia News July 31, 2011
Following the death of a 48-yearold Nanaimo man - shot and killed by police in October 2009 - a jury has recommended setting up a 24-hour link for police to access mental-health information.
In a special inquest looking into the shooting of Jeff Hughes, the jury also recommended that officers be held accountable faster to reduce inconsistencies. It suggested video and audio recording equipment be provided to police and called for having a emergency response team and negotiators available at all times.
Read more:
Inquest jury calls for mental health link
Army wants to rid top ranks of toxic leaders
Army wants to rid top ranks of toxic leaders
By Michelle Tan and Joe Gould - Staff writers
Posted : Sunday Jul 31, 2011 8:25:09 EDT
The Army is working to flush toxic leaders from its ranks. A survey of more than 22,630 soldiers from the rank of E-5 through O-6 and Army civilians showed that roughly one in five sees his or her superior as “toxic and unethical,” while only 27 percent believe that their organization allows the frank and free flow of ideas.
“You could look at this and say 82 percent of Army leaders are doing good and great things, but our nature isn’t going to be congratulatory,” said Col. Thomas Guthrie, director of the Center for Army Leadership, which has conducted the Annual Survey of Army Leadership since 2005. “Eighteen percent is too high even if it is perceived. It’s trying to change those climates out there, those individual behaviors, that’s taking some time. We do have to invoke some change, and we have to look internally for that.”
“I’m not surprised that some leaders have figured out how to balance the demands on their time better than others,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said in a statement to Army Times. “We’ll address the concerns described in the report.”
read more here
Army wants to rid top ranks of toxic leaders
By Michelle Tan and Joe Gould - Staff writers
Posted : Sunday Jul 31, 2011 8:25:09 EDT
The Army is working to flush toxic leaders from its ranks. A survey of more than 22,630 soldiers from the rank of E-5 through O-6 and Army civilians showed that roughly one in five sees his or her superior as “toxic and unethical,” while only 27 percent believe that their organization allows the frank and free flow of ideas.
“You could look at this and say 82 percent of Army leaders are doing good and great things, but our nature isn’t going to be congratulatory,” said Col. Thomas Guthrie, director of the Center for Army Leadership, which has conducted the Annual Survey of Army Leadership since 2005. “Eighteen percent is too high even if it is perceived. It’s trying to change those climates out there, those individual behaviors, that’s taking some time. We do have to invoke some change, and we have to look internally for that.”
“I’m not surprised that some leaders have figured out how to balance the demands on their time better than others,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said in a statement to Army Times. “We’ll address the concerns described in the report.”
read more here
Army wants to rid top ranks of toxic leaders
Army has had a shortage of counselors since 2008
Army eyes hiring 130 substance abuse counselors
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jul 30, 2011 16:04:12 EDT
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Army officials say they want to hire 130 substance abuse counselors for 54 military installations, including Fort Bragg.
The Army hopes to hire the counselors by October, according to The Fayetteville Observer.
The Army has had a shortage of counselors since 2008, according to Dr. Les McFarling, director of the Army Substance Abuse Program, adding that the Army wants to have 562 counselors, but has struggled to fill jobs.
read more here
Army eyes hiring 130 substance abuse counselors
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jul 30, 2011 16:04:12 EDT
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Army officials say they want to hire 130 substance abuse counselors for 54 military installations, including Fort Bragg.
The Army hopes to hire the counselors by October, according to The Fayetteville Observer.
The Army has had a shortage of counselors since 2008, according to Dr. Les McFarling, director of the Army Substance Abuse Program, adding that the Army wants to have 562 counselors, but has struggled to fill jobs.
read more here
Army eyes hiring 130 substance abuse counselors
Manager of Homeless Veterans' Shelter, living high on the VA's money
Living high on the VA's money
Nancy Cook spent freely on meals, clothes, rent; official audit under way
BY RENEE DUDLEY
rdudley@postandcourier.com
Sunday, July 31, 2011
When Nancy Cook dined out, she used a debit card to cover the tab.
When she paid her personal cell phone bill, she used the same card.
When she withdrew cash, she used it again.
The only problem is that the card wasn't hers. It drew from a taxpayer-funded account used to pay bills for homeless veterans at the North Charleston shelter Cook then managed as its executive director.
Some expenses were for the legitimate benefit of the center and the veterans.
Others -- clothing and antiques at high-end King Street boutiques, pricey meals at fine restaurants, rent at her private-practice office -- were questionable. Cook even used the Good Neighbor Center's account to pay her personal federal withholding tax.
For more than 15 years, Cook had managed the 32-bed Spruill Avenue shelter where homeless veterans sought help finding work, obtaining permanent housing and overcoming alcohol and drug addiction.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the primary source of the grant money that bankrolled Cook's lifestyle, did nothing to stop her spending. VA officials conducted annual inspections at the nonprofit shelter, but rarely reported more than minor health or safety violations.
VA inspectors' financial reviews were perfunctory and relied on Cook's documentation.
Cook's management went unchallenged until last fall when The Post and Courier published its first reports detailing problems at the shelter.
Now Cook, a former Charleston County School Board chairwoman, is at the center of a federal investigation.
Auditors said this year that the shelter owes the government more than $122,000 in grant funds that were spent inappropriately. Now they are probing whether Cook broke federal laws.
Cook was fired in May and her access to the shelter's funds has been suspended.
read more here
Living high on the VA money
Nancy Cook spent freely on meals, clothes, rent; official audit under way
BY RENEE DUDLEY
rdudley@postandcourier.com
Sunday, July 31, 2011
When Nancy Cook dined out, she used a debit card to cover the tab.
When she paid her personal cell phone bill, she used the same card.
When she withdrew cash, she used it again.
The only problem is that the card wasn't hers. It drew from a taxpayer-funded account used to pay bills for homeless veterans at the North Charleston shelter Cook then managed as its executive director.
Some expenses were for the legitimate benefit of the center and the veterans.
Others -- clothing and antiques at high-end King Street boutiques, pricey meals at fine restaurants, rent at her private-practice office -- were questionable. Cook even used the Good Neighbor Center's account to pay her personal federal withholding tax.
For more than 15 years, Cook had managed the 32-bed Spruill Avenue shelter where homeless veterans sought help finding work, obtaining permanent housing and overcoming alcohol and drug addiction.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the primary source of the grant money that bankrolled Cook's lifestyle, did nothing to stop her spending. VA officials conducted annual inspections at the nonprofit shelter, but rarely reported more than minor health or safety violations.
VA inspectors' financial reviews were perfunctory and relied on Cook's documentation.
Cook's management went unchallenged until last fall when The Post and Courier published its first reports detailing problems at the shelter.
Now Cook, a former Charleston County School Board chairwoman, is at the center of a federal investigation.
Auditors said this year that the shelter owes the government more than $122,000 in grant funds that were spent inappropriately. Now they are probing whether Cook broke federal laws.
Cook was fired in May and her access to the shelter's funds has been suspended.
read more here
Living high on the VA money
Combat hospital at Kandahar Airfield, a daily fight for life
Near Afghanistan’s front lines, a daily fight for life
THE COMBAT HOSPITAL at Kandahar Airfield is among the most advanced treatment facilities to ever operate in a war zone. Roughly 70 percent of its patients come straight from the battlefield. In addition to U.S. and coalition service members, the hospital treats Afghans. For the staff, every day is spent working to keep death at bay.
PART ONE | The NATO hospital at Kandahar is among the most advanced treatment facilities to ever operate in a war zone. Their job is to save the war's worst casualties.
By Corinne Reilly
The Virginian Pilot
© July 31, 2011
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
The doctors can hear the wailing before their patient is even in sight.
A second later, a flight medic bursts through the trauma department doors. His face is serious. He’s short of breath. Outside, corpsmen rush to unload a soldier from a military ambulance that carried him here from a Black Hawk. Two dozen doctors, nurses and surgeons have been awaiting their arrival.
“Who am I talking to?” the medic shouts.
“Here!” blurts Lt. Cmdr. Ron Bolen, the head of the hospital’s trauma department. He points to the Navy doctor leading the team that will examine the soldier first.
“OK, you’ve got tourniquets on both legs,” the medic gulps. “The right one is totally gone to at least the knee. He lost a lot of blood.”
The doctor hurriedly inquires about vital signs, fluids administered in the field, and the weapon that caused the explosion that did all this.
The next question would usually be whether the patient is conscious, but this time no one has to ask.
Outside, the wailing is getting louder.
read more here
Near Afghanistan front lines
THE COMBAT HOSPITAL at Kandahar Airfield is among the most advanced treatment facilities to ever operate in a war zone. Roughly 70 percent of its patients come straight from the battlefield. In addition to U.S. and coalition service members, the hospital treats Afghans. For the staff, every day is spent working to keep death at bay.
PART ONE | The NATO hospital at Kandahar is among the most advanced treatment facilities to ever operate in a war zone. Their job is to save the war's worst casualties.
By Corinne Reilly
The Virginian Pilot
© July 31, 2011
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN
The doctors can hear the wailing before their patient is even in sight.
A second later, a flight medic bursts through the trauma department doors. His face is serious. He’s short of breath. Outside, corpsmen rush to unload a soldier from a military ambulance that carried him here from a Black Hawk. Two dozen doctors, nurses and surgeons have been awaiting their arrival.
“Who am I talking to?” the medic shouts.
“Here!” blurts Lt. Cmdr. Ron Bolen, the head of the hospital’s trauma department. He points to the Navy doctor leading the team that will examine the soldier first.
“OK, you’ve got tourniquets on both legs,” the medic gulps. “The right one is totally gone to at least the knee. He lost a lot of blood.”
The doctor hurriedly inquires about vital signs, fluids administered in the field, and the weapon that caused the explosion that did all this.
The next question would usually be whether the patient is conscious, but this time no one has to ask.
Outside, the wailing is getting louder.
read more here
Near Afghanistan front lines
Soldiers and suicide: Widow says despite pleas, help never came from Fort Bragg
You'd think there wasn't much that would leave me stunned after all these years but here I sit, shaking my head in disbelief.
A soldier came home showing signs he needed help. A wife responded, asked for help for him, the way we always say families need to act. The military keeps saying they are there to help, have programs ready to help, chaplains ready to offer spiritual support and they take military suicides seriously. Everyone seems to have done all they could to help Sgt. Adrian Simmons heal, except the Army itself. He's dead. She's a widow. Will anyone be held accountable for letting all of this happen? No. No one has been held accountable for any of their suicides. Numbers go up, claims of taking all this seriously go up but no one gets justice for any of this.
A soldier came home showing signs he needed help. A wife responded, asked for help for him, the way we always say families need to act. The military keeps saying they are there to help, have programs ready to help, chaplains ready to offer spiritual support and they take military suicides seriously. Everyone seems to have done all they could to help Sgt. Adrian Simmons heal, except the Army itself. He's dead. She's a widow. Will anyone be held accountable for letting all of this happen? No. No one has been held accountable for any of their suicides. Numbers go up, claims of taking all this seriously go up but no one gets justice for any of this.
Soldiers and suicide: Widow says despite pleas, help never came
By John Ramsey
Staff writer
Staff photo by James Robinson
Nicole Simmons' husband, Sgt. Adrian Simmons, died July 5 after he went into the garage of their Hoke County home and shot himself. She says he had suffered symptoms of PTSD.
"Simmons said that after her husband died July 5, soldiers told her the Army was opening an investigation into what happened. But she wasn't contacted for an interview until Wednesday, hours after the Observer sent an email to the 82nd Airborne Division asking why no one had talked with her."
Three months before her husband shot himself in the family's garage, Nicole Simmons said, she met with a chaplain and her husband's commanders at Fort Bragg.
Help me, and help my husband, Simmons said she told Lt. Col. Marcus Evans and Command Sgt. Maj. Herbert Kirkover.
Her husband, Sgt. Adrian Simmons, had changed, she said she told them.
Simmons, who is pregnant with their second child, thought he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He couldn't control his temper, and his memory was terrible, she said.
"I said, 'Something is wrong with my husband. He is saying he wants to blow his brains out. He is getting so short-tempered, so short-fused, anything will make him blow,' " Simmons said she told the commanders. "I said, 'I think he needs a psychological evaluation.' "
Soon after that meeting, the 24-year-old Simmons said, a soldier came to the family's Hoke County home to confiscate her husband's personal guns. Hoke County Child Protective Services visited and determined that the couple's 2-year-old son was safe as long as the guns remained out of the house.
But the Army never sent her husband to a counselor, Simmons said.
read more here
Widow says despite pleas help never came
San Jose has problems when Reservists deploy
This report shows that while most reservists working for San Jose are cops, which has been known for a long time by some, it also shows how they lose income when they deploy. San Jose tried to make up the difference in pay but as you'll read, they didn't do it right. Some reservists have had to pay back money, putting hardship on top of hardship.
San Jose had to lay off cops but this happened all over this country with budget cuts. This left the rest of us wondering if our protection matters as little as taking care of our protectors. After 9-11, almost 10 years ago, all the talk was about how valuable the first responders were to all of us. Firefighters rushing into burning buildings, risking their lives to save others. Cops putting themselves in danger everyday and families wondering if they would get the phone call to change their lives forever. We all talked about the men and women being sent to Afghanistan in response to what Osama ordered. These men and women were all heroes, worthy of our attention, prayers and worth every dime that had to be spent on sending them.
The problems came when our talk was not of equal measure to our actions. They did everything that was expected of them. We just didn't do what was expected of us.
San Jose audit suggests limits on military reservists' pay
By John Woolfolk
jwoolfolk@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/30/2011
"Reservists have the support of the City Council and don't have the support of the city administration; that's been the case from the very beginning," said Christian, who is still paying off nearly $10,000 in overpayments from his tour in Afghanistan.
When America went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, San Jose did its patriotic part by renewing a policy of subsidizing employee military reservists -- most of them cops -- who were summoned to the battlefield.
But with those conflicts dragging on nearly a decade, a new city audit suggests limits on a program it says is so generous that it creates an incentive for repeated and extended military tours at a time when San Jose is suffering crippling budget shortfalls and staffing cuts. Last month, the city was forced to lay off 66 cops.
The recommendations follow years of criticism of administrative errors in the program, which socked some returning veterans with demands to give back thousands of dollars in overpayments.
Some part-time soldiers question some of the audit's conclusions and say that they bolster a sense among reservists that city administrators want to discourage their military service.
"It's an effort to one way or another force reservists not to serve their country and make it as difficult as they can," said San Jose police Sgt. Brian Christian, a former Marine Corps reservist who served in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003.
The program pays the difference between reservists' city wages and lower military salaries while continuing health and retirement benefits. Recent changes have reduced the overpayment problems that the Mercury News reported in 2006 and a civil grand jury criticized in a 2007 report. But the audit of the program, extended indefinitely in 2007, recommends slapping a time limit on tours and dropping provisions that render reservists more than "whole" while they're on leave. The city pays reservists' pension contributions while deployed rather than deducting them from their pay, even though they also are earning military retirement, the audit pointed out.
read more here
San Jose audit suggests limits on military reservists pay
San Jose had to lay off cops but this happened all over this country with budget cuts. This left the rest of us wondering if our protection matters as little as taking care of our protectors. After 9-11, almost 10 years ago, all the talk was about how valuable the first responders were to all of us. Firefighters rushing into burning buildings, risking their lives to save others. Cops putting themselves in danger everyday and families wondering if they would get the phone call to change their lives forever. We all talked about the men and women being sent to Afghanistan in response to what Osama ordered. These men and women were all heroes, worthy of our attention, prayers and worth every dime that had to be spent on sending them.
The problems came when our talk was not of equal measure to our actions. They did everything that was expected of them. We just didn't do what was expected of us.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The 686th Engineer Company, Orlando leaves for Fort Bliss
Troops concerned about national debt debate
By Mark Jenkins, Reporter
Last Updated: Saturday, July 30, 2011 5:47 PM
ORLANDO --
More than 180 troops received their marching orders, and left Orlando Saturday with a ceremony. They said goodbye to their families, and prepared to deploy to Afghanistan.
"We're all pretty pumped and excited to go," says Army Cpl. Shannon Sabsook.
Sabsook is part of the 689th Engineer Company. They search for road-side bombs, which is the number one killer of US troops in combat operations.
"It's a very dangerous job," Sabsook said. "I'm thankful we have very good equipment."
These troops are deploying during a time of economic uncertainty. While the war wages on in Afghanistan, the money battle continues in Washington.
read more here
Troops concerned about national debt debate
By Mark Jenkins, Reporter
Last Updated: Saturday, July 30, 2011 5:47 PM
The 686th Engineer Company prepares for deployment to Afghanistan.
ORLANDO --
More than 180 troops received their marching orders, and left Orlando Saturday with a ceremony. They said goodbye to their families, and prepared to deploy to Afghanistan.
"We're all pretty pumped and excited to go," says Army Cpl. Shannon Sabsook.
Sabsook is part of the 689th Engineer Company. They search for road-side bombs, which is the number one killer of US troops in combat operations.
"It's a very dangerous job," Sabsook said. "I'm thankful we have very good equipment."
These troops are deploying during a time of economic uncertainty. While the war wages on in Afghanistan, the money battle continues in Washington.
read more here
Troops concerned about national debt debate
Army enlisting families on soldier healing
As Gomer Pyle said, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" It looks like the Army is finally getting this right. Ignoring how important the families are when it comes to mending the bodies and minds of combat troops has contributed to what we've been reading all of these years. Now, maybe, God willing, they finally have their ammo loaded in the right weapons. It did little good telling them they could train their brains to be "tough" when they already were and ended up blaming themselves for PTSD. It didn't do much good to show them a Power Point that put them to sleep. It has done little good to medicate them into numbness. Even for the veterans they managed to get past the stigma of PTSD so they understood it, they were not served because the families they needed to help them heal were left out. A soldier could go and deny things they were doing either because they didn't want to admit it, forgot about it or didn't think it was important to mention. A spouse can correct what the veteran got wrong. They can also end up discovering how they react matters. Respond the right way and they help the healing but if they respond the wrong way because they didn't understand or know what to do, they made things worse. This gives everyone a better chance to heal.
Army unveils new website for wounded, injured, ill soldiers' families and caregivers
Written by
Philip Grey
The Leaf-Chronicle
The Army Warrior Transition Command has added another tool in its holistic approach to caring for wounded, ill and injured soldiers.
Available online at Army Warrior Transition, the Comprehensive Transition Plan Learning Module is a resource developed to help families and caregivers of a Warrior in Transition, defined as "a soldier with complex medical needs requiring six months or more of treatment or rehabilitation."
The definition can include soldiers severely wounded in combat, injured on the job in peacetime or wartime, or suffering from a long-term illness.
At the Army's 29 Warrior Transition Units in the United States and Europe, supporting some 8,500 soldiers requiring long-term treatment and rehabilitation, the soldiers are given one mission — to heal and transition successfully, either back to active duty or into the civilian world.
In the past decade the Army has worked on treatment methods that go beyond medical care and make soldiers active participants in their own treatment.
The online program focuses on educating family members and caregivers on the role they can play in assisting the soldier through the process, which consists of seven parts — intake, assessment, goal setting, rehabilitation, review, pre-transition and post-transition.
read more here
Army unveils new website for wounded
Senator Coburn wanted to cut Vietnam Veterans off of Agent Orange Claims
Linked from Veterans for Common Sense
Press Release
July 20, 2011
No. 11-16
Contact:
Mokie Porter
301-585-4000, Ext. 146
Sen. Coburn to Vietnam Veterans:
No More Agent Orange Claims
(Washington, D.C.) – "Sooner or later, some senator or congressman was going to target benefits earned by veterans," said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). "It seems that Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) is the one who has taken aim and fired."
Senator Coburn, a medical doctor with a well-earned reputation as a fiscal conservative, has offered an amendment to H.R. 2055, the Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs and related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012. His amendment would require proof of a "causal relationship" rather than a "positive association" of certain illnesses to Agent Orange exposure. "If enacted, this measure will significantly restrict Agent Orange benefits and care. VVA vigorously opposes this amendment," Rowan said
"This measure is wrong-headed. It is out of touch with science – and with the intent of the Agent Orange Act of 1991. It attempts to undo two decades of policy. Currently, veterans are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange if they served 'boots-on-the-ground' in Vietnam and, in some instances, along the demilitarized zone in Korea," Rowan said. "If they develop certain maladies that the VA Secretary has determined, on the basis of sound scientific and epidemiological research, that a positive association exists between the exposure and the occurrence of the disease, they are entitled to health-care and disability compensation.
"Congress, in part, settled on this mechanism because it was nearly impossible for Vietnam veterans to prove that their exposure to Agent Orange caused their health conditions, many of which are ultimately fatal," Rowan said. "Requiring a causal relationship, which is well nigh impossible to demonstrate, would essentially mean that benefits due to Agent Orange exposure would be out of reach for Vietnam veterans."
"If the senator feels that Agent Orange benefits and needed medical care ought to be stripped from Vietnam veterans and their families, then he should introduce a bill and arrange to hold a hearing," Rowan said. "But there has been no bill, and no hearing. And if his colleagues really do care about the health of Vietnam veterans, they ought to stand with Vietnam Veterans of America, with all Vietnam veterans and our families, and with most of our colleagues in other Veterans Service Organizations. We call on a bipartisan majority of Senators to reject the ill-advised Coburn amendment out of hand."
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA's founding principle is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”
Former homicide prosecutor now yoga guru for combat vets
Former homicide prosecutor now yoga guru for combat vets
By Mike Clary, Sun Sentinel
1:02 p.m. EDT, July 30, 2011
FORT LAUDERDALE—
During his 22 years as a Broward County prosecutor, David Frankel tried cases so saturated in mayhem and madness they sounded like horror fiction. The case of the severed head. Death by acid bath. The mutilation of the gurgling prostitute.
But the cases were real.
Outside the courtroom, Frankel struggled to balance the stress of trial work and the suffering of the crime victims he represented by studying Hindu philosophy and practicing theyoga he learned years ago from his grandmother.
Eventually, however, that balance was lost. "I felt I had reached the peak of what I was doing in law, but I didn't sleep well," Frankel said. " It was swallowing me whole. I had to make a change."
read more here
Former homicide prosecutor now yoga guru for combat vets
By Mike Clary, Sun Sentinel
1:02 p.m. EDT, July 30, 2011
FORT LAUDERDALE—
During his 22 years as a Broward County prosecutor, David Frankel tried cases so saturated in mayhem and madness they sounded like horror fiction. The case of the severed head. Death by acid bath. The mutilation of the gurgling prostitute.
But the cases were real.
Outside the courtroom, Frankel struggled to balance the stress of trial work and the suffering of the crime victims he represented by studying Hindu philosophy and practicing theyoga he learned years ago from his grandmother.
Eventually, however, that balance was lost. "I felt I had reached the peak of what I was doing in law, but I didn't sleep well," Frankel said. " It was swallowing me whole. I had to make a change."
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Former homicide prosecutor now yoga guru for combat vets
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