21 Fort Campbell soldiers awarded Purple Hearts

21 Fort Campbell soldiers awarded Purple Hearts
Ceremony underscores dangers of driving on Afghanistan's roads
Written by
Philip Grey
The Leaf-Chronicle
Twenty-one members of the 101st Sustainment Brigade received the Purple Heart Medal on Tuesday for wounds received during a recent deployment in Afghanistan.

The medals were presented to the soldiers of the 541st Transportation Company, 106th Transportation Battalion by 101st Airborne Division Commander Maj. Gen. James C. McConville during a ceremony at Fort Campbell.

The awards, including two to Sgt. Ontario Perry for multiple incidents, underscore the dangers of driving on Afghanistan's roads. All told, 48 members of 541st TC received 50 Purple Heart Medals during their deployment in Afghanistan's Regional Command South, an area known as a Taliban hotbed strewn with improvised explosive devices.
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Over $2.2 Billion in Retroactive Agent Orange Benefits

Over $2.2 Billion in Retroactive Agent Orange Benefits Paid to 89,000
Vietnam Veterans and Survivors for Presumptive Conditions

WASHINGTON (August 31, 2011)- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki announced today that more than $2.2 billion in retroactive
benefits has already been paid to approximately 89,000 Vietnam Veterans
and their survivors who filed claims related to one of three new Agent
Orange presumptive conditions.

On August 31, 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) amended its
regulations to add ischemic heart disease, hairy cell leukemia and other
chronic B-cell leukemias, and Parkinson's disease to the list of
diseases presumed to be related to exposure to Agent Orange.

"As the President said to the American Legion yesterday, VA is
committed to ensuring Veterans and their families receive the care and
benefits they have earned," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki. "I encourage all potentially eligible Veterans to apply as
soon as possible to preserve the most favorable effective date for
payments."

For new claims, VA may authorize up to one year of retroactive benefits
if a Veteran can show that he or she has experienced one of those
conditions since the date of the regulatory change.

VA has reviewed, and continues to review, thousands of previously filed
claims that may qualify for retroactive benefits under a long-standing
court order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
California in Nehmer vs. U.S. Veterans Administration.

"VA encourages survivors of Veterans whose death may be due to one of
the three diseases to file a claim for dependency and indemnity
compensation," added Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey.

Secretary Shinseki's decision to add these conditions to the list of
Agent Orange presumptive conditions was based on a study by the
Institute of Medicine, which indicated a positive association between
exposure to certain herbicides and the subsequent development of one or
more of the three conditions.

Potentially eligible Veterans include those who were exposed based on
duty or visitation in Vietnam or on its inland waterways between January
9, 1962, and May 7, 1975; exposed along the demilitarized zone in Korea
between April 1, 1968, and August 31, 1971; or exposed due to herbicide
tests and storage at military bases within and outside of the United
States.

The Agent Orange Claims Processing System website located at
https://www.fasttrack.va.gov/AOFastTrack/ may be used to submit claims
related to the three new presumptive conditions.

The website makes it easy to electronically file a claim and allows
Veterans and their physicians to upload evidence supporting the claim.
It also permits online viewing of claim status.

Beyond the three new presumptive disabilities, Veterans may file online
at VA's My-eBenefits web site at:
https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/ebenefits.portal. They
can check the status of their claim with a premium account (confirming
their identity), and use a growing number of online services.

Servicemembers may enroll in My-eBenefits by using their Common Access
Card at anytime during their military service, or before they leave
during their Transition Assistance Program briefings.

Veterans may also enroll through their myPay or MyHealtheVet accounts by
visiting their local VA regional office or Veteran Service Organization,
or by calling 1-800-827-1000.

For more information about Agent Orange presumptives and disability
compensation, go to
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/. For questions
about Agent Orange, Veterans may call VA's Special Issues Helpline at
1-800-749-8387 and press 3.

Vietnam vets get fair shout-out

Vietnam vets get fair shout-out
By Amy Schweitzer
WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Vietnam War veterans gave all subsequent veterans a great gift, said John Hilgert, director of the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs.

Hilgert was the guest speaker Monday during the Nebraska State Fair Veterans Day Celebration. The event was a salute to all veterans but gave special recognition to Vietnam War veterans.

"Certainly the sacrifice of the Vietnam veteran is well documented," Hilgert said, adding that as a Gulf War veteran he wanted to thank those veterans for the treatment he received.

"The Vietnam veteran taught this country a valuable lesson on how to treat the warrior upon their return. Never again will America question the commitment of the men and women they sent into harm's way.

"That is a special gift that the Vietnam veterans not only gave to this Gulf War veteran but to all veterans who came afterward."

About 250 veterans, their spouses and families attended the celebration in the Heartland Events Center. When asked to stand according to their era of service, most were Vietnam veterans, with a handful of World War II veterans and even fewer who served in Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan.
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Army veteran's violent breakdown bucks demographics

Army veteran's violent breakdown bucks demographics
August 30, 2011|By Larry King, Inquirer Staff Writer


They had been married for 14 years. They lived in a two-story, $300,000 home in a Virginia suburb. They were the parents of a little girl, not quite grade-school age.

And Leonard and Carrie Egland were part of a culture - the Army - where research shows a relatively low rate of reported domestic violence. Particularly among officers, which Capt. Leonard Egland was.

But that idyll disintegrated as the couple separated and neared a final divorce decree.

They bickered over custody of their daughter, police said, and Carrie Egland confided to friends that she had grown fearful of her estranged husband.
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Lawsuit seeks to help VA pension beneficiaries wrongly purged from Medicaid rolls

Lawsuit seeks to help VA pension beneficiaries wrongly purged from Medicaid rolls

By Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald
In Print: Tuesday, August 30, 2011


Irene Czajkowski, 84, is the widow of a military veteran, living in a St. Petersburg nursing home with a fixed income of roughly $20,000 a year.

Apparently, she's too rich to qualify for Medicaid assistance. The Department of Children and Families recently notified Czajkowski's brother Michael Buckley — who has power of attorney — that it planned to remove her from the long-term Care Diversion Program.

But in a lawsuit filed in federal court late Friday, attorneys argue that Czajkowski is one of an untold number of Veterans Affairs pension beneficiaries, living in nursing homes across the state, who have been wrongly purged from the Medicaid rolls, in violation of a 1987 injunction spurred by the lawsuit Mitson vs. Coler.

"Shockingly, the State of Florida has failed to comply with the Court's permanent injunction, and class members have suffered, and continue to suffer, injury as a result," according to the motion to reopen Mitson, in which the state's Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services was ordered to review Medicaid qualifying standards.

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We need to help other veterans and their families and friends understand the truths about PTSD

"Standing up for veterans also means making sure everyone knows how to get needed care. We, as veterans helping veterans, need to aide those who are suffering. They need to know about the hotlines the VA has setup, about the VA facilities offering free and immediate care. We need to know what symptoms to watch for, and we need to help other veterans and their families and friends understand the truths about PTSD."

Remarks by National Commander Donald L. Samuels

National Commander Tyson, National Adjutant Wilson, Department and Chapter Commanders, Auxiliary members, honored guests, friends, and my fellow members of Disabled American Veterans:

Thank you all very much. Thank you for this humbling opportunity to serve you. It is an immense honor and responsibility that I take very seriously. You can be sure that I will put my all into carrying on the great traditions of this organization, working tirelessly for every disabled veteran, their families and survivors. Together, we will continue standing up for veterans and keeping our pledge to leave no veteran behind.

When I was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1969, I came to a crossroads. At that point in my life – a young, wounded Vietnam veteran dealing with a disability – my life could have taken many different directions. But the DAV was there for me with much-needed help. Then they offered me a chance to help my fellow veterans. I have been hooked on this, the finest veterans service organization anywhere, ever since.

Being elected into this office is well beyond anything I could have ever imagined when I first became a National Service Officer. But now that I am here, you can count on me to always remember our one mission – improve the quality of life for disabled veterans, their families and their survivors.

"I am excited about continuing our relationship with Harley-Davidson during my term. The Harley's Heroes program is doing great things for veterans by getting our Mobile Service Office into communities around the nation, helping us bring benefits, education, and counseling to our veterans free of charge to them and their families. I appreciate Harley-Davidson’s commitment and I appreciate our skilled counselors who are developing and prosecuting veterans’ claims."

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Obama salutes vets for ‘extraordinary burdens’

“We cannot, will not, and we must not, balance the budget on the backs of our veterans,” Obama said.

Obama salutes vets for ‘extraordinary burdens’
Veterans eye job initiatives as president speaks at American Legion convention
By Julie Pace - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Aug 30, 2011 13:38:37 EDT
MINNEAPOLIS — Recalling “those awful attacks,” President Obama saluted the 9/11 generation of veterans Tuesday and publicly relished the prospect of U.S. forces getting out of both Iraq and Afghanistan.

“They have borne an extraordinary burden, with more than 2 million of our service members deploying to the war zones,” Obama said. “Hundreds of thousands have deployed again and again, year after year. Never before has our nation asked so much of our all-volunteer force — that 1 percent of Americans who wears the uniform.”

Speaking before thousands of veterans and their families attending the American Legion’s annual convention, Obama said the Americans who have worn the uniform since Sept. 11 have put the nation in a position of strength and have earned their place among the greatest of generations.

“Every day for the past 10 years, these men and women have succeeded together as one American team,” Obama said.

Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; more than 6,200 American troops have been killed and tens of thousands wounded.
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Parents seek answers for son's concussion, suicide

Posting this and wondering if some of the military suicides should be tied to traumatic brain injury or if they are even looking at this?

Parents seek answers for son's concussion, suicide
By JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer
NOKESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Austin Trenum's bed remains half-made, the way a typical teenager would leave it. On a shelf is his scarred black helmet, the one he was wearing when he tackled the quarterback near the sidelines during Brentsville High's game against Handley some 11 months ago. Austin's mouthpiece remains tucked neatly in the face mask, ready to be taken out for the next play.
For Austin, there was no next play.
Downstairs in the Trenum home, in the living room to the left of the television, is a memorial in photographs to the 17-year-old college-bound senior who wore No. 43 in football, No. 14 in lacrosse, all sorts of crazy hats when he felt like it, a "fro-hawk" of curly hair, and a pair of women's sunglasses on a lark one day while riding back from the beach.
Austin's final play left him with a concussion. Two days later, with the rest of the family downstairs in the house, he went up to his room and hanged himself.
To the grieving parents, there is no doubt that one caused the other. Shortly after his death, Gil and Michelle Trenum made the difficult decision to donate Austin's brain for research. Seated around their dining table, they told their son's story, hoping his death can leave a legacy for others of lessons learned — that concussions still aren't taken as seriously as they should be; that athletes, parents, coaches, trainers and even emergency room workers are often ill-informed as to how to treat them; that more of a culture change is needed in a sport in which blows to the head are considered badges of honor.
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Almost 4,000 still suffering with PTSD after 9-11 in New York

9/11 -- Remembrance and Renewal: Thousands Still Coping with PTSD
(NEW YORK) -- A decade after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, thousands are still feeling the emotional impact.

After 9/11, a unified spirit helped Americans cope.

"There was a real sense of solidarity in the community which I think probably limited the [emotional] damage," says Dr. John Markowitz at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

But there are nearly 4,000 people who are still suffering with 9/11-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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Navajo Code Talkers Exhibit

Sedona Arizona Visitors Enjoy
— Navajo Code Talkers Exhibit

Sedona, AZ: Japanese photographer Kenji Kawano, born in Fukuoka in 1949, was not yet born when a group of modern-day Navajo warriors, known as the Code Talkers, defied Japanese intelligence during World War II. By communicating in their own language, the Navajo Code Talkers provided the U.S. Marines with an unbreakable code.


Now, more than a half century later, Kenji Kawano’s photographs capture the spirit of those Navajo Code Talkers, whose code was never broken. “Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers,” at the Museum of Northern Arizona through Sunday, October 9, is an exhibit of 20 black and white photographs, each a handcrafted, gelatin-silver print on archival-quality paper.
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Veteran lifted by D.C. visit

Veteran lifted by D.C. visit
by Laura Freeman | Reporter

Hudson -- More than 65 years after serving his country, a World War II veteran helped to honor fellow veterans in Washington, D.C.

James Rothgery, 87, a 37-year Hudson resident, flew from Cleveland to the U.S. Capitol Aug. 17 as a member of Honor Flight Cleveland, a nonprofit organization, which takes World War II veterans to see the nation's memorials.

During the trip, Rothgery, who fought as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Battle of Midway, was chosen with three other veterans to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

"I think the greatest pleasure was pushing a fellow veteran in a wheelchair and the four of us putting a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," Rothgery said. "That was amazing."

Rothgery was accompanied by his guardian, Jennifer Cline, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, who is stationed in Washington, D.C.
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Seven Signs That You Need to See a Mental Health Professional

Seven Signs That You Need to See a Mental Health Professional
By LAURA L. SMITH, PH.D.

Everyone has bad days. And many have bad weeks. But when feeling depressed, stressed, or anxious stretches out over a period of several weeks and begins to interfere with daily life, then mental health professionals may need to be involved. Here are some signs that you or someone you care about need evaluation and possibly treatment:

1.Suicidal thoughts or plans.
2.Feeling defeated and hopeless
3.Unable to work or play because of overwhelming emotional distress.
4.Changes in sleep.
5.Changes in appetite.
6.Changes in mood that last for longer than a few weeks.
7.Lack of interest and withdrawal.

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Usually the rule is 30 days "for better or worse" meaning if the symptoms seem to be less each day, then you are more than likely "working it out" but if they do not ease up or get stronger, seek help. As pointed out in this article, make sure the therapist you are planning on seeing is an expert on trauma or you may find yourself with the wrong diagnosis or not getting the help you should.

Walter Reed Was The Army's Wake-Up Call In 2007

In 2010 I had a VIP tour of Walter Reed during the Memorial Day trip to the Vietnam Wall. The young men and women I met were incredible. They stood by each other as if related by blood and in a way, they were. Each one of them was seriously wounded in combat. Most were from Afghanistan. They were more worried about others than themselves.

Walking around waiting for a cab to take me to the hotel my thoughts went back to the report. The American people just assumed they were all being treated with the best that could be done for the wounded. We had no clue how bad it was until reporters told us how wrong we were. There was an uproar but the families and the wounded knew how bad it was then. Had they not been willing to do something about it, I wonder what it would have been like for the men and women I just met.

Courtesy of Oscar Olguin
At Walter Reed, Oscar Olguin and his family were visited by President Bush and first lady Laura Bush. But Olguin says that when he left the hospital, he had to fend for himself.

Walter Reed Was The Army's Wake-Up Call In 2007
by TOM BOWMAN

August 31, 2011
For more than a century, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center was known as the hospital that catered to presidents and generals. Eisenhower was treated and died there. So too did Generals "Black Jack" Pershing, Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall.

But in recent years, Walter Reed was shorthand for scandal.

A 2007 series that dominated the front page of The Washington Post told of decrepit housing and wounded soldiers left to fend for themselves.

But the problems were identified years before. Salon.com wrote about it in 2005. Members of Congress later said they had complained to senior Army officials a year or two earlier. Nothing happened.

Soldiers Fending For Themselves

Among those who had problems at Walter Reed was Oscar Olguin, an Army private who lost a leg in Iraq in 2004, when a suicide bomber struck his Humvee outside the city of Ramadi.

Olguin was discharged from the hospital at night in December 2005, in his wheelchair. He was simply told to find his new quarters.

"I got out. I was in my wheelchair. I was by myself," Olguin says. "I got released in the middle of the night. I'm trying to find my way. So I just started rolling around in my wheelchair. And ended up taking the streets, and just following the signs to get to Malogne House."

He never checked in with anybody, even as he attended his physical therapy appointments. It wasn't until three months later that Olguin was contacted by an Army master sergeant. "You're in my platoon," the sergeant told him. "And you have to check in with me every morning."

That wasn't Olguin's only problem. He also had a roommate.

"I had a roommate who was suffering from severe PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], who wasn't supposed to have any sharp objects," Olguin remembers. "I didn't know."

Olguin went on a ski trip with other wounded soldiers, and when he returned, his roommate was gone. Military police had taken him away.

"He tried to slash his own wrists with the knives that I had in my room," says Olguin. "That was probably the worst part. He could have killed himself, and I could've played a part in that, and not even known."
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Shooting suspect blames Hollywood anti-war film for death of two Airmen

Shooting Suspect Admits Killing 2 US Airmen
August 31, 2011
Associated Press
FRANKFURT, Germany --- A 21-year-old Kosovo Albanian says he killed two U.S. airmen at the Frankfurt airport on March 2 and wounded two others, but insists he doesn't understand why he committed the crime.

In an emotional confession to the court as his murder trial began Wednesday, Arid Uka said he had become increasingly radicalized by jihad videos online before the shooting.

He told the court that "what I did was wrong, but I cannot undo what I did."

He says that a video purporting to show American servicemen raping a Muslim girl had prompted him to try and stop other American soldiers from getting to Afghanistan.

The video turned out to be from a Hollywood anti-war film.
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Army to Charge Stryker Soldier

Army to Charge Stryker Soldier
August 31, 2011
The News Tribune|by Adam Ashton

The Army is moving forward with most of the charges it pressed against a Joint Base Lewis-McChord sergeant linked to its Stryker "kill team" investigation, despite a July report that expressed skepticism about the soldier's guilt.

The decision means that Staff Sgt. David Bram, 27, of Vacaville, Calif., will face a general court-martial on charges that he asked a fellow soldier to kill Afghans in combat-like scenarios, abused detainees and assaulted a subordinate who blew the whistle on drug use in their platoon.
Bram has been a suspect linked to a group of five 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division soldiers who allegedly murdered Afghan noncombatants last year.
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