Monday, September 26, 2011

Almost half of military suicides came after seeking help

The larger number we should be aware of is the simple fact that 46 percent had sought help but still committed suicide. No matter how Richard McKeon wants to avoid that fact, it does show how what they have been proving in terms of "help" has not been working. With all the years they have been trying to prevent suicides and get these men and women to seek help, the numbers would have gone down instead of up. There are things they are doing right but if they make a mistake early on, what they do have right won't help. Resilient training is the biggest mistake of all. Telling them they can train their brains to prevent PTSD is telling them if they end up with PTSD their minds are weak. While this is not the message the military intended to deliver, it is the one the servicemen and women have heard. Once they think of PTSD this way, whatever they hear afterwards, they believe they're suffering because they didn't train their brains right and it is their fault.

The other thing they have wrong is that whatever help they have been providing has not lived up to the need. That is clear when we read that almost half of the men and women committing suicide had sought help before that point. How much more evidence do they need before they understand what they have been doing is just not good enough?

A third of military suicides told of plans to die

By DAN ELLIOTT
Associated Press

"About 46 percent had been seen at a military treatment facility sometime in the 90 days before death. The treatment services include physical and behavioral health, substance abuse, family advocacy and chaplains."
DENVER (AP) - A third of military personnel who committed suicide last year had told at least one person they planned to take their own lives, a newly released Defense Department report says.

Nearly half went to see medical personnel, behavioral health specialists, chaplains or other service providers sometime in the 90 days before they died, according to the 2010 Department of Defense Suicide Event Report.

That doesn't necessarily reflect a failure in the Defense Department suicide prevention program, said Richard McKeon, chief of the Suicide Prevention Branch at the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

"It's not that some person blew it," McKeon said Thursday. But physical and behavior health care personnel, counselors and other providers need to monitor their programs and look for improvements, he said.
read more here

Veteran of World War II and the Korean War, paralyzed, still an athlete

U.S. Veteran Unable to Walk Proves He's Still an Athlete
Published September 25, 2011
FoxNews.com
An 83-year-old veteran who hasn’t walked in 10 years has refused to let that stop him from becoming an award-winning national athlete.

Theron Hallock, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, recently took the bronze medal in the power chair relay race at the 31st Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Pittsburgh, the Green Valley News reports.

Hallock, who turns 84 soon, and others from a group of paralyzed veterans from Tucson, Ariz., joined nearly 600 athletes from 46 states, Puerto Rico and Great Britain in this year’s games, which included 17 sports. Archery, basketball, bowling, hand cycling, power soccer, softball, table tennis and weight lifting were among the events.
read more here

We must be the healers that returning war veterans need

Thousands of years ago people were dying from infections we just take a pill for now. It wasn't that people didn't know about suffering any more than it was about doctors giving up. It took the media to spread the news with every advance in medicine to learn about what had been going on. People can't learn if no one tells them.

When veterans came home in America from the Revolutionary War, they brought the war back with them. The survivors of amputations reminded everyone around them of the battles fought for freedom from England. With the Civil War there were even more reminders that once the soldiers returned home, they were forever changed. With every war afterwards there were more reports simply because there were more reporters and more people to read the reports. The wound we call PTSD now was carried within them but only the families knew about it. It was a secret part of price paid. It was not until the Vietnam War ended that the general public became aware of what had been happening all along, again, because there were more reports and more people reading them.

Fast forward to the early 90's when more and more people plugged into the Internet and listened to the sound of the phone line connecting to AOL, hearing "You've got mail" giving them the ability to discover within minutes what was happening across the nation. When whatever they wanted to know about was found just by typing in a few words in Google. This link gave us the ability to discover what a small town newspaper was reporting on no matter where we were. Information linked us to everyone else in the country and sooner or later, we managed to find people just like us.

Today we have the ability to spread the word about PTSD so that this wound will be noticed as commonly as we notice a missing limb and remember the price of freedom is still being paid long after the wars have ended.


We must be the healers that returning war veterans need
10:57 PM, Sep. 25, 2011
Written by
Alden Josey
Recent comments in the media have highlighted the epidemic of suicides of military personnel, those in combat situations and those who have returned home.

It is increasingly urgent to understand and respond to the experiences of these persons, particularly the latter group, with empathic understanding of where they have been, what has happened to them and what they need from us.

Typical reactions displayed by some returning combat veterans include depression and anxiety in various forms, a sense of "not fitting in anymore," of not being able to adjust to the norms of civilian life, of intense rage of undetermined focus, and increasingly, suicide.

Clearly, a deep and powerful dynamic is at work among these men and women, and it is usually described under the diagnostic category of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Families and friends are often shocked at the difficulties of the veteran in readjustment to civilian life and are puzzled and dismayed when their friends and loved family members behave erratically, as if they had arrived as strangers from another and sinister planet.

These returning veterans have had a profound but incomplete initiatory experience of warfare in which their psychological landscapes have been deeply affected and their sense of identity, of relationship to their lives before this experience, irrevocably altered.
read more here

Motorcyclists ride in support of wounded marine

Motorcyclists ride in support of wounded marine
By ERIN FRANCE
Published Sunday, September 25, 2011
Motorcyclists head down Main Street in Watkinsville on Saturday during a ride to support Marine Cpl. Michael Boucher, who lost both legs below the knees while serving in Afghanistan.
Michael Boucher hid the first motorcycle he bought, several years ago, from his parents, who said the machine was too dangerous.

This weekend, more than 250 motorcycles rode in support of Boucher, 22, who lost his legs below the knees in Afghanistan while serving in the Marines.

The "Freedom Isn't Free" motorcycle ride started at Cycle World of Athens and traveled through Boucher's Bogart neighborhood and downtown Watkinsville before ending at a fundraiser at the Blind Pig Tavern on Broad Street.

Boucher joined the crowd by webcam and thanked everyone for their support.
"I'll drink one (beer) for everybody," Boucher joked.

Jim and Kim Boucher, Michael's parents, were overwhelmed by the amount of support the motorcycle ride received, they said.

"(The motorcycles) just kept going and going and going," Jim Boucher said.
The money raised from the ride will help make the Bouchers' Bogart house wheelchair-friendly.
read more here
Linked from Marine Corps Times

A Marine tells his story after losing both legs and one arm

A Marine tells his story after losing both legs and one arm
Joshua Benjamin Kerns was serving in Afghanistan when he was hit by an explosive in April

Melissa Gaona
Multimedia Journalist
7:00 p.m. EDT, September 25, 2011

PATRICK COUNTY, Co.—
After losing both of his legs and one of his arms, a young Marine who was serving in Afghanistan, was back in his hometown Sunday afternoon.

For a town of 2700 people, you'd never guess swarms of traffic would come through Ararat.

But when the news is about a hometown soldier who lost both his legs and his right arm while serving his country, people tend to show off their support.

At only 21 years old, Jeremy Benjamin Kerns is still alive to tell his story. "I have no regrets what happened,” said Kerns. “I knew exactly what could happen when I signed up but I love this country."
read more here

Son of Seminole Sheriff seriously injured in Afghanistan

Son of Seminole Sheriff seriously injured in Afghanistan
Don Eslinger Jr. in photo taken about 10 days ago

By Gary Taylor, Orlando Sentinel
4:41 p.m. EDT, September 25, 2011

The son of Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger was seriously injured Saturday when he was hit by mortar fire in Afghanistan.

Don Eslinger Jr., 20, underwent surgery Sunday morning [11 p.m. EST Saturday] at the Kandahar Airfield Hospital and is in a medically induced coma, his father said.

"His fellow soldiers and the medical team at both Forward Operating Base Bullard and Kandahar Airfield Hospital saved my son's life," Eslinger said. "They're doing a wonderful job."

He suffered broken ribs and a broken leg and his spleen was removed, Eslinger said.

Former Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary and former DEA agent John O'Rourke are in Afghanistan and spoke to a medical team from Orlando that treated the soldier,and they relayed information to his father. They are contractors working with the Afghan government's police force.

Eslinger enlisted in the Army in July 2010 and was sent to Afghanistan in April. He was home on leave for two weeks before returning there Sept. 16, his father said.
read more here

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Orlando VFW POW-MIA Service on YouTube

On September 18, 2011, the Orlando VFW held a service to honor all POW-MIAs. One of the speakers was an ex-Korean War POW. Ed Izbicky served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. They also did the empty chair ceremony.

First lady, TV show bring attention to veterans

First lady, TV show bring attention to veterans
By Lynn Elber - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Sep 24, 2011
LOS ANGELES — Michelle Obama found an unusual ally — reality TV — in her effort to bring attention to the needs of military families.

The first lady, appearing Sunday on the two-part season premiere of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (7-9 p.m. EDT) says the program was the right platform for the cause.

“We live in a media age, and one of the things we still share is our love of television” and the stories it can tell so effectively, Obama said. “We thought this was an extraordinary venue to highlight the struggles and challenges and triumphs of a special family.”

Barbara Marshall of Fayetteville, N.C., who served in the Navy for 15 years, was dismayed by the number of homeless female veterans and established Steps-N-Stages Jubilee House to provide shelter, counseling and other aid. When the house grew cramped and inadequate, “Extreme Makeover” and the first lady stepped in.

She joined with series host Ty Pennington, a local builder and community volunteers on the Jubilee House project and was on hand at the unveiling to surprise Marshall.
read more here

Fulton soldier identified as victim of suspected murder case

Fulton soldier identified as victim of suspected murder case

Submitted by Anna Virginia Greene, Community Blogger
Friday, September 23rd, 2011, 7:33pm


FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina -- A Quad City Area soldier has been identified by authorities as the victim of a suspected murder case in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Private, First Class Chad P. Dellit, of Fulton, Illinois was discovered near a hotel after guests reported what sounded like gunfire.

The incident occurred late Wednesday, September 21st. Police say they arrived at the Inn-Keeper Hotel just after 11 p.m.

“The officer responded to the area at 1706 Skibo Road where they saw the suspect running…behind the complex, I believe the Toys R Us. They canvassed the area. They didn’t locate the suspect described in the 911 call,” says police spokesman, Gavin MacRoberts.
read more here

Investigation shows Custer combat veteran had PTSD

Investigation shows Custer man had PTSD
Posted: Sep 23, 2011
By Courtney Zieller


An investigation shows a South Dakota Highway Patrol officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing after he shot and killed a Custer man on September 6.

And we're learning more about the man who died after Attorney General Marty Jackley sent out a statement Friday.

A criminal check was done on Engen by the Division of Criminal Investigation.

He didn't have a record.

But investigators found Engen was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

Engen was discharged from the military in May 2011.

He served four years.
read more here

Army Investigating Death Of Non-Combat Soldier In Afghanistan


Army Investigating Death Of Non-Combat Soldier In Afghanistan
Soldier Worked Desk Job In Afghanistan
September 23, 2011

APPLETON, Wis. -- The sisters of a Wisconsin soldier killed in Afghanistan say U.S. Army military police are investigating his death.

His sisters told the Appleton Post-Crescent that Staff Sgt. Garrick Eppinger Jr. worked a desk job on Bagram Airbase and wasn't in the line of fire.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced earlier this week that the 25-year-old soldier from Fox Valley died Saturday in Parwan province in eastern Afghanistan.
read more here

Bomb "hunter" with PTSD waiting 3 years for benefits

Collateral Damage: Benefit delays frustrating for ex-soldier with PTSD

By Greg Barnes
Staff writer

Ron Smith worked as a bomb hunter in Iraq and Afghanistan, one of the most dangerous jobs in the military.

Smith said the experience, which included three deployments between 2006 and 2008, left him mad at the world. He began drinking a lot, he said, and became detached from everyone around him.

In 2009, after leaving the Army and Fort Hood, Smith came to Fayetteville to see a girlfriend who became pregnant with his child.

He also went to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he said he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and told he was entitled to VA disability benefits.

Three years after applying for those benefits, Smith said, he is still waiting for them. He makes concessions for the delay, acknowledging that the paperwork initially was filed improperly.

Now he is frustrated. He said he has called, emailed and written letters to the VA numerous times, only to be ignored or turned away each time.

He is far from alone.

At the beginning of this year, the Fayetteville VA had a medical exam backlog for nearly 6,000 veterans who had filed for disability benefits, said Ed Drohan, a hospital spokesman.
read more here

Ex-officer shoots ex-wife, self

Ex-officer shoots ex-wife, self

CMPD police say argument in Davidson ended when their former colleague fired.


By Meghan Cooke
macooke@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Sunday, Sep. 25, 2011
A former Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer and his ex-wife were hospitalized with serious injuries Saturday, police said, after he apparently shot the woman, then turned the gun on himself in Davidson.

Just after 2 a.m. Saturday, Davidson police responded to a report of a shooting at a home on Callaway Hills Lane. When officers arrived, they found a man and woman in the front yard, both with gunshot wounds.

Witnesses told police that Jeremy Allen Hester, 31, drove to the home of his ex-wife, Erin Marie Cobb, 28, and they began arguing inside. Moments after the pair walked outside, multiple gunshots were fired, witnesses told police.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, who are investigating the shooting, said that evidence gathered at the scene suggests Hester shot his ex-wife in the neck and then shot himself in the head. Police called the incident a "domestic violence-related shooting."

A neighbor who lives across the street told the Observer she heard three gunshots and then saw police cruisers rush to the home.

"I think everybody in the neighborhood called 911," she said.

read more here

Camp Lejeune Marine to receive Silver Star

Marine to receive Silver Star

September 24, 2011 6:38 PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Camp Lejeune will present the prestigious Silver Star medal to a base Marine next week.

Capt. Timothy R. Sparks will receive the Silver Star Medal on Wednesday, according to releases from the 2nd Marine Division. The award ceremony will be held at the Officers Club aboard Camp Lejeune at 3:30 p.m.

Sparks will receive the medal for conspicuous gallantry in action while in support of Operation Moshtarak, February 2010, as company commander with Lejeune’s Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, according to releases.
read more here

Fort Bragg soldier in critical condition, 12 others in hospital after march

1 soldier remains critical, 12 others still hospitalized after grueling Fort Bragg march
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: September 24, 2011

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — One Fort Bragg soldier is fighting for his life and a dozen others are hospitalized a day after succumbing to the heat and humidity during a grueling march.

Womack Army Medical Center spokeswoman Shannon Lynch said Saturday one soldier remains in the hospital's intensive care unit. Twelve others receiving treatment are expected to be discharged Sunday.

More than three dozen soldiers at the North Carolina Army base suffered heat-related problems Friday after participating in the early morning march they needed to complete for their expert field medical badge.
read more here

CNN had this

43 Fort Bragg soldiers suffer heat illness in 12-mile road march
By Jennifer Rizzo and Michael Martinez
updated 1:50 PM EST, Fri September 23, 2011
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A total of 60 soldiers were being tested for their expert field medical badge
43 of them suffer heat-related illnesses
One is in intensive care
The difficult-to-obtain badge is considered the "portrait of excellence" in the Army

(CNN) -- Forty-three soldiers suffered heat-related illnesses Friday during a 12-mile road march at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, an Army spokesman said.

The march was the culmination of a week of "expert field medical badge training," during which soldiers are tested on their medic and general soldier skills in order to receive an "expert" badge, Fort Bragg spokesman Benjamin Abel said.

Sixty soldiers were on the march, which started at 6 a.m., and they were carrying backpacks, helmets, weapons and other combat gear, Abel said.

About an hour and a half into the march, the people running the event noticed some personnel "were having difficulties," and medical transports were begun, he said.

Eighteen of the soldiers were transported to Womack Army Medical Center, and one was admitted to the intensive care unit, he said.

Humidity levels Friday morning were higher than expected, but "this is odd, out of the norm, to have this many people treated," Abel added.
read more here

Fort Hood soldier dies after being hit by truck

Fort Hood soldier dies after being hit by truck in Aiken County
By Lynn Davidson
Staff Writer
Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011

Follow Latest News
A 48-year-old Killeen, Texas, soldier died after being hit by a pickup on Edgefield Highway near Eureka, S.C., on Friday night, Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton said.

Sgt. 1st Class Maurice J. Collier was attending a motorcycle rally with more than 500 motorcycles at Ellen’s Bar and Grill, Carlton said. Collier was standing near the entrance to the property directing traffic when he was struck by a Ford F-350. Collier was taken to Aiken Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead of multiple body trauma, Carlton said.
read more here

Homeless vets get help with their problems at Orlando Stand Down

Last year I was in Buffalo when they held the Stand Down. My husband went with the DAV to help out. After he told me about all they had going on, I wondered why there was so little coverage on the news. It sounded wonderful! So many volunteers showing up to help veterans otherwise forgotten and avoided. Anyway, I showed up yesterday with camera in hand to get some of it on tape. The problem was, I was told I couldn't film or even take pictures. This reporter was there doing an interview and she told me the photographer would have plenty of pictures for me see.

As you can see, no pictures. At least the Sentinel reported on it. I checked News 13 site and there was nothing. Channel 2 didn't have anything. None of the others had anything. What's really bothering me right now is that when our veterans commit crimes, they are all swarming around to report on it. When one of them is in need and being helped out by volunteers because they care, no one seems interested.

So, to the Sentinel, thank you for reporting on this and to the volunteers, thank you for caring. To the others, this is why I hardly ever watch the news anymore.

Homeless vets get help with their problems

By Eloísa Ruano González, Orlando Sentinel
6:53 p.m. EDT, September 24, 2011

U.S. Navy veteran Bill Kirwin needs a computer to search for a job and turn his life around, but he needs a library card to access the Internet at the Orlando Public Library. And to receive a free library card, he needed an identification card.

Kirwin finally received a state-issued I.D. at the Veterans Stand Down event held Saturday in Orlando. He was among the hundreds of homeless veterans who showed up for free haircuts, food and bags filled with hygiene products, clothing and a sleeping bag.

"When you're out on the street, transportation is a problem. Here, [the services] are all right here," said 37-year-old Kirwin, who will be entering a six-month residential treatment program to deal with the alcohol problem he developed while in the Navy.

The event, held at the Orlando Downtown Recreation Complex, also gave homeless vets an opportunity to sign up for transitional housing, food assistance, drug treatment programs and other services.

"It's our obligation to take care of them [veterans]," said Tim Liezert, director of the Orlando VA Medical Center. He watched as the veterans made their way through the maze of tables inside the recreation center. The veterans were allowed to use the showers at the facility.
read more here

Murdered veteran faces final insult — no money for local funeral

Murdered Elgin homeless veteran faces final insult — no money for local funeral
By Dave Gathman
September 24, 2011
ELGIN — Vietnam-era soldier. Gifted carpenter. Loving father of three.

Alcoholic. Chronic homeless man. The victim of a senseless murder in which too much drinking likely played a role on both sides.

But after fulfilling all those roles during his 60 years of life, Richard Gibbons of Elgin now faces perhaps the final insult. His children don’t have enough money to give him the kind of funeral he wanted — a local cremation and simple memorial service costing just $1,700 — and are holding a fundraiser to pay for it, with any extra raised to be donated to three causes that benefit the homeless of Elgin.

The only time Gibbons made headlines was when he died, the victim of a crime so cruel and pointless that it made the Chicago newspapers and TV broadcasts. Many who heard the tale may have simply shrugged and said, “So another drunken homeless man is gone from our streets and some overserved, irresponsible jerk will probably spend most of his life in prison.”

But Gibbons’ family remembers a different man — a kind man, someone who even while he was homeless worked with an Elgin charity group to better the lives of others who live on Elgin’s streets.

read more here

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Investigation reveals a disturbing vulnerability in the support we provide our combat veterans

Marine claims brain trauma led to fatal DUI crash
By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — It seemed like an open-and-shut DUI manslaughter case. Officers said Scott Sciple drove the wrong way down a Tampa interstate in April of 2010 and plowed head-on into another car, killing the other driver. According to court records, Sciple's blood-alcohol level was more than three times Florida's legal limit.

But as the case unfolded, so did the unusual circumstances of Sciple's life. He was a Marine captain who had earned three Purple Hearts for injuries and the Bronze Star for heroism in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had nearly died from blood loss, suffered severe head trauma and once dug a mass grave for Iraqi civilians.

It's these mental scars of combat, his lawyer says, that are to blame for the accident. Brain damage and post-traumatic stress disorder caused Sciple to blackout in a dissociative episode the night of the crash, said defense attorney John Fitzgibbons. Sciple has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney will offer an insanity defense at trial.

The other driver, Pedro Rivera, left behind a wife, two children and three stepchildren. His widow is broken-hearted and believes the military deserves some blame for the accident for not treating Sciple's disorder.

Remarkably, those sentiments are echoed by Marine Corps investigators who examined the case and wrote an 860-page report with recommendations for top brass. The report says the corps should be more thorough in evaluating and treating post-traumatic stress disorder, especially in Marines with brain injuries.

"This investigation reveals a disturbing vulnerability in the support we provide our combat veterans suffering the invisible wounds of PTSD," wrote Col. John P. Crook of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, in a Sept. 26, 2010 letter. "It is folly to expect a wounded mind to diagnose itself, yet our Marines still depend on an anemic system of self-diagnosis and self-reporting."
read more here

Republican Crowd Boos Gay Soldier at GOP Fox News Google Debate

Don't even get me started on this one. A soldier risking his life asked about how the GOP candidates would treat other soldiers like him and the answers were stunning! The boos from the crowd were even worse.

More Evidence That Marijuana-Like Drugs May Help Prevent PTSD

Not sure if it will "prevent it" but I know a lot of veterans helped by it. It calms them down when nothing else seems to be able to.

More Evidence That Marijuana-Like Drugs May Help Prevent PTSD
By Maia Szalavitz Friday, September 23, 2011

Could a marijuana-based medicine potentially prevent the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? If the findings of a new study in rodents hold up, they may offer a new avenue for treatment of an illness that affects at least 7% of Americans during their lifetimes.

For the study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers exposed rats to severe, Navy Seal-level stress, including restraint, forced swims and anesthetization. Luckier control rats just stayed in their cages and were handled twice by researchers.

Like humans who develop PTSD, the stress-exposed rats later became oversensitized to more moderately stressful stimuli, showing an exaggerated startle response to loud noises, for example.

These rats also took longer to recognize that a once scary spot in a cage was now safe. Animals that had experienced traumatic stress also showed related changes in stress hormones.

But rats that were severely stressed, then immediately given a synthetic compound that mimics the effects of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, were mellower. They showed none of the stress-related changes seen in the rats receiving placebo.

The timing of the drug (known as WIN55, 212-2) mattered, though. The injections prevented symptoms of PTSD when they were given two or 24 hours after stress, but had no effect when administered 48 hours later.

The study, which involved a total of 637 male rats included in a series of 16 experiments, follows up similar previous work by the same author, this time using different tests of stress.
read more here

Social media bridging gap between troubled vets and treatment

If Facebook and all the other online sites were around when Vietnam Veterans came home, there would be a lot more of them still here today!

Social media bridging gap between troubled vets and treatment
By MATTHEW M. BURKE
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 23, 2011
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Marine Cpl. J.P. Villont returned from Iraq a broken man.

The married father of four was angry, paranoid, hyper-vigilant, aggressive and withdrawn — telltale signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Yet, for seven years, the former Marine was reluctant to seek help.

“Obviously I had PTSD and it was undiagnosed,” Villont, 40, said recently from his Phoenix home. “It’s a huge stigma, so I didn’t want to find that out. I pretended I didn’t have it for many years.”

Then, following a couple of violent outbursts, Villont finally contacted a few veterans facilities in Arizona. He was told he would have to wait months for treatment.

With seemingly nowhere to turn, his wife, Lisa, starting posting messages on the Wounded Warrior Project’s Facebook page.

“Its been over 7 years since my husband returned home from Iraq, just last week he finally decided to seek help for what we assume will be diagnosed as PTSD,” she wrote.

Her words caught the attention of Jennifer Boyce, social media manager for the Wounded Warrior Project, who provided the Villonts with people who could help immediately.
read more here

Fort Hood soldier leads police on high-speed chase

KILLEEN
Fort Hood soldier leads police on high-speed chase

Posted: Sep 22, 2011 9:54 PM EDT

By: Nicole Jacobsen

KILLEEN - A Fort Hood soldier was arrested Thursday after he led police officers on a high-speed car chase through three cities.

It started when police responded to a domestic disturbance call just before 5 a.m. in the 300 block of Goodnight Drive. When officers arrived, Travis Edward Bell fled the scene in a red Dodge pickup truck.
read more here

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter getting help from his neighbors

When Christ said, "Love thy neighbor" this is exactly what he was talking about. Kyle Carpenter decided to serve the nation in the Marines and the fact he very well may have laid down his life doing it didn't stop him. His community stepped up when he came home wounded, yet again, out of love. Amazing story.

Saturday, Sep. 17, 2011

BENEFIT
Gilbert Marine, family to get help
BY JEFF WILKINSON - jwilkinson@thestate.com

Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, flanked by his parents, Jim and Robin Carpenter of Gilbert, laughs during a press conference in March at the State House. Lance Cpl. Carpenter was injured by a hand grenade in Afghanistan and was honored in the senate chambers.
- Tracy Glantz /tglantz@thestate.com


On Nov. 21, during the troop “surge” in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter of Gilbert was fighting on a rooftop near Marjah.

The Marines were fighting in a village they called Shadier because it was between two other villages they named Shady and Shadiest. During the firefight, a hand grenade landed in front of Carpenter and his best friend in Afghanistan, Cpl. Nick Eufrazio of Plymouth, Mass.

Carpenter absorbed most of the blast, which took his right eye, many of his teeth and mangled his right arm, among other injuries. A sliver of shrapnel went into Eufrazio’s brain. Both men still are being treated at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland.

Carpenter, 21, already has undergone about 35 surgeries and expects 10-12 more.

On Sunday, the Lutheran churches of Lexington County will sponsor a benefit for Carpenter, to raise money to help pay the expenses of family members when they go to Maryland to be with Kyle during those surgeries, and to help Kyle with college when he leaves the Marines.

“The military pays for Kyle’s medical treatment but not the family’s expenses,” said Rev. Eric Wolf of St. John’s Lutheran in Lexington. “And that is a big strain for anyone.”

The numerous surgeries have repaired much of Carpenter’s face and mouth, and given him partial use of his right arm and right hand. Subsequent surgeries will improve such things as finger movement.

“It really just depends on how much surgery Kyle wants and can do,” his mother, Robin Carpenter, said Wednesday. The surgeons “are doing miraculous things. You wouldn’t know he was blown up by a hand grenade on Nov. 21.”
read more here


also the original story
Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter

Four charged in deadly shooting of Vietnam veteran, deputies say

Harry Blakeney's life could fill any reality TV show. Aside from being a hoarder, he was accused of killing his wife during a flashback caused by PTSD and his time in Vietnam but with all of this his death is being tied yet again to Vietnam. It is suspected he was robbed and killed because he just received a disability check for Agent Orange.

Four charged in deadly shooting of Vietnam veteran, deputies say
Updated: Sep 22, 2011
By Chris Dyches, Web Content Producer

KERSHAW, SC (WBTV) - Deputies say four people have been charged after a Vietnam veteran was shot and killed in the streets near a church in Lancaster County.

According to the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, the deadly robbery happened in the town of Kershaw near the intersection of N. Ingram and E. Church Streets around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, not far from the First Baptist Church.

Major Matt Shaw with the Sheriff's Office told WBTV that three men and a woman were charged after 21-year-old Jerel Davis and 25-year-old Heyward Truesdale went to the home of 69-year-old Harry E. Blakeney to commit armed robbery. During the robbery, shots were fired and Blakeney was killed.

Deputies say a bystander, 31-year-old Douglas Lewis, was standing near Blakeney when the shots were fired and was injured in the shooting.

According to deputies, Davis and Truesdale ran from the home and got into a vehicle with 35-year-old Prayon Truesdale and 19-year-old Shaun McCrorey.

Sources tell WBTV Blakeney is a Vietnam Veteran who killed his wife decades ago after returning from the war. The sources say he was having a flashback at the time and drowned her. After spending several years in a mental institution, he was released.

Those who knew Blakeney said he never got over the trauma of war.

"Many come back with wounds," said Rev. Bryant Fersner, Blakeney's pastor at First Baptist Church in Kershaw.

"Some of the wounds are visible. Many of the wounds are invisible. Ed was an invisible wounded warrior," said Fersner.

Neighbors said Blakeney had recently received a large settlement for being exposed to agent orange while serving in Vietnam and investigators believe the suspects were after Blakeney's money. Neighbors also described Blakeney as a hoarder, saying he had a reputation of buying and collecting anything from vehicles to tools to stash in his home.
read more here

Thursday, September 22, 2011

BBC reports on our female veterans and trauma

Female veterans tormented by combat and sexual trauma
By Laura Trevelyan
BBC News, New York


June Moss struggled with suicidal tendencies and depression after returning home from her tour in Iraq
Nearly one in six members of the US military on active duty is a woman. Coming to terms with what they experience, especially when they come home, can take a terrible toll.

Women in the US military have come a long way since a WWII recruiting poster urged them to 'Free a Marine to Fight' by joining up in support roles.

Today 14.5% of active duty members of the US military are women.

And even though they're not strictly in combat roles, women are experiencing warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan just like the men do.

Women, too, are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the horrors they've seen. Coping with that, and with being a mother, poses problems of its own.

Take June Moss, a mother of two who was a staff sergeant in the US army shortly after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
read more here

Fallen soldier's family urges support for those still deployed

Fallen soldier's family urges support for those still deployed
By JERRY WOFFORD World Staff Writer
Published: 9/21/2011


Relatives of a Collinsville soldier whose body was returned Tuesday to Tulsa from Afghanistan, where he was killed, said they want people to continue to support other soldiers still in harm's way.

Oklahoma Army National Guard Spc. Christopher D. Horton, 26, was killed Sept. 9 by small-arms fire.

His remains were met Tuesday by his wife, Jane Horton, and his parents, Cherie and David Horton, at the Oklahoma Air National Guard Base in Tulsa.

"Today is the day we welcome home a true American hero," Jane Horton said.

read more here

Fort Hood Soldier Dies During 4th Deployment To Iraq

Fort Hood Soldier Dies During 4th Deployment To Iraq
A 30-year-old Fort Hood soldier from Texas has died during his fourth deployment to Iraq, the military said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (September 21, 2011)—Fort Hood Staff Sgt. Estevan Altamirano, 30, of Edcouch died Sunday of injuries he received in what the military described Wednesday as a non-combat-related incident.

Further details weren’t released.

Altamirano was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

He joined the Army in January 2001 and had deployed to Iraq from January 2004 through February 2005, October 2006 through January 2008, January 2009 through December 2009 and most recently in May.
read more here

Dogs Being Trained To Help Soldiers Suffering From PTSD

Dogs Being Trained To Help Soldiers Suffering From PTSD
By: SHEILA PARKER
Published: September 21, 2011
FORT STEWART, GA - WSAV --
Dogs are man's best friend. Some are also trained to help with tasks like search and rescue or guiding the visually impaired. Others offer psychological and emotional comfort to our fighting men and women in uniform. News Three introduces you to a program -- helping veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

The dogs are being trained to do incredibly helpful things -- open doors, refrigerators and cabinets, turn on lights and deliver their leash -- but it's the more intangible things they do that help the men and women suffering from post traumatic stress function on a day to day basis.

Sgt. Joshua Campbell says, “For me...loud public areas are very, very scary for me... Where there's a lot of people and I have no control it really gives me a lot of anxiety. What the dog does for me is acts like a second set of eyes and ears, you know, and she does it intuitively. I don't have to ask her to do it." He’s had his dog Jackie for three months and says, “The dog for me is the same as a wheelchair is for someone else…her just being with me gives me the ability to not necessarily cure me but help me work to that point, you know, just having a... Like a buddy system is what it feels like for me…she will be trained to notify me, let me know about people behind me. There's commands for her like "pop in the corner" where she can look around corners that I can't see and also cover my 6, you know, military terminology that they can do to let you know."

After three deployments led to post traumatic stress, working with Jackie has helped Sergeant Campbell rejoin society. He says, “It's still small steps but getting out of the house more, for instance, it's really hard for us to get going. We can't leave the house very much and we have to with the dog because the dog needs to be exercised. The dogs need to be, you know, taken care of and treated properly, so that gets us out."
read more here

Soldier Deals with Life After PTSD Breakdown

Soldier Deals with Life After PTSD Breakdown

Retha Colclasure
9/21/2011
The wounds of war aren`t always visible. More people are becoming aware of that. One year after a PTSD breakdown, one soldier`s family is glad he`s still alive.

One year ago tonight, Brock Savelkoul went into a convenience store in Watford City with guns. He then drove off, drunk, and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase that ended in a standoff in an attempt at suicide by cop.

Today, his friends and family are glad he`s still alive.

There`s nothing quite like a soldier`s homecoming. But after the hugs, the kisses and the tears of joy over the reunion, many soldiers are faced with the different reality of civilian life.

"You come back, you`re thrown into civilian life, and you`re rewired," said Joan Daigle, who`s a friend of the Savelkoul family.

That`s something Daigle found out when her son returned home and suffered from severe post traumatic stress disorder.

Daigle said, "I had no clue what was coming."

Many family members don`t. That`s why when Brock Savelkoul took off in a pickup truck, drunk, with weapons and suffering from a PTS blackout his family didn`t know what to think.

"It was a complete shock," said Angie Heinze, Brock`s sister. "It was a nightmare, this can`t be my brother. I knew it wasn`t the real Brock, had to be something else going on."

Brock had been diagnosed with PTSD, but the diagnosis wasn`t enough.
read more here

Camp Lejeune Chaplain briefs service members about combat stress

Chaplain briefs service members about combat stress

Posted: Thursday, September 22, 2011 12:00 am

Pfc. Nik S. Phongsisattanak Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

When service members deploy, there are many things they sacrifice. They sacrifice the luxury of taking refreshing showers, fresh home-cooked meals, and most of all - the time they could be spending with their loved ones at home.

During deployments, Marines and sailors leave a lot behind, and when they return, common perception is that life should be grand, according to Lt. Commander John C. Rudd, command chaplain with Deployment Processing Command East, MCB Camp Lejeune. But, the weight of past experiences on their shoulders can be a lot to carry.

Rudd holds briefs that address combat stress. The briefs are for a small number of individuals, which include active-duty and reserve Marines and sailors, as well as contractors, who are augmented from their original units to temporarily support another unit. The brief is required for all augmented personnel.

"When I returned from my deployment, I wanted to go back to where I left off," said Rudd. "But things change as time passes. The general principle is realizing and admitting that time has passed and I'm not where I used to be, so I'm going to have to do the hard work of figuring out where I am right now and finding my new norm.
read more here

Families still waiting for National Guard to cover damages from fire

Herriman fire victims still awaiting payment one year later

BY KATIE DRAKE
The Salt Lake Tribune

First published Sep 21 2011
Robin Smugala still has the picture of her scorched, smoking home taken exactly one year ago, a damaged but still-standing victim of the fire that wreaked havoc on the Herriman hillsides.

While repairs on the home are almost complete, the couple is one of many still waiting for the National Guard to pay for the damage. The fire was sparked during a live-fire training exercise at the Army’s Camp Williams, on the southern side of the mountain.

Herriman residents have filed roughly 1,300 claims since the fire, and the Army has paid out about $4.3 million to cover the damage. But as of Wednesday, 34 claims remain open, leaving families like the Smugalas wondering if the Army National Guard will honor its promise to put things right.
read more here

Names released of couple found dead at Luke Air Force Base Post Office

Glendale police release names of couple found dead at Luke base
by Eddi Trevizo, Lisa Halverstadt and John Genovese on Sep. 20, 2011, under Arizona Republic News


Glendale police have released the names of a Goodyear couple found dead in a post office on Luke Air Force Base.

Gaudioso Gamilla, 62, and Vilma Gamilla, 61, were found with multiple stab wounds about 7 p.m. Sunday, Glendale police said.

It could be a murder-suicide, although Sgt. Brent Coombs, a Glendale police spokesman, said the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office would make that determination.

Officials said the bodies were found in an area where military mail is processed, a spot not accessible to the general public.

Over the weekend, a staff sergeant from Luke Air Force Base contacted Goodyear police to report that his father, a Department of Defense civilian employee at the base post office, was missing. Goodyear officials contacted the base, and military investigators found a vehicle parked outside the post office after business hours, prompting a search inside.
read more here

Suicide Rate Among Troops Alarms Pentagon for 59 seconds?

Stunned,,,simply stunned. I read the headline and thought, great, there has to be an amazing video connected to it, but wow, I was totally wrong. It wasn't even a minute long. How alarmed can they be?

Jonathan Woodson, Assistant Secretary of Defense Health Affairs, said that suicide was a "permanent solution to a temporary problem" ignoring the evidence that with all the years of "research" into military suicide and combat PTSD, the results seem to be the DOD has been trying to get around a permanent problem with a temporary solution.

You can't cure PTSD but you can heal it. What the DOD has come up with on fighting PTSD is like having the best bullets in the world without anything to put them into.

Suicide Rate Among Troops Alarms Pentagon (Video)

September 21, 2011
By Beth Ford Roth


Pentagon officials have grown alarmed at the growing suicide rate among servicemembers as Suicide Prevention Month grows to a close. According to a Pentagon Report:

1,100 servicemen and women committed suicide in 2005 to 2009 — one suicide every day and a half. The Army’s suicide rate doubled in that time.

Navy veteran Ann Longboy has joined the chorus of military voices trying to bring awareness to suicide prevention. Longboy shared her story on the Defense Centers for Excellence website about how her own suicidal thoughts in 1987 as a young Sailor were stopped from being put into action by her Navy leadership. She writes of how grateful she was to her leadership for intervening, because the consequences of suicide hit home for her in 2004 when her younger brother took his own life:
read more here

Medal Awarded for 101st Airborne Vietnam-Era Covert Op

Medal Awarded for Vietnam-Era Covert Op
September 22, 2011
Knight Ridder
by Howard Altman

It was September 1968, and Richard Crawford was on a secret mission in a country where U.S. troops weren't supposed to be.

Crawford, now a Lakeland resident, was inside one of several helicopters headed to Laos on a mission to rescue a reconnaissance team that had come under heavy fire. Over the course of several hours, the helicopters were shredded by fire. Two crashed and several soldiers were injured, but the reconnaissance team was saved.

From a written eyewitness account by Roger F. Lockshier, Specialist 5/E-5Black Angels Co., 101st. Airborne Division:
"We rolled in for the pick-up and immediately started receiving tremendous amounts of automatic weapons fire. I could hear and feel our helicopter getting hit with bullets as we laid down our machine-gun, 40mm, & rocket fire. Scott and I stepped out onto the skids and proceeded to lay down a non stop blanket of M-60 fire."

It was another harrowing day in the life of the secret Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, a highly classified U.S. special forces unit that conducted covert operations before and during the Vietnam War. It was created more than two decades before U.S. Special Operations Command.

For more than four decades after making their way out of that harrowing firefight, the men, led by a now 68-year-old Crawford, have been fighting another battle.
One for recognition. And honor.
read more here

Military families say war takes toll on them too

I don't know what it is like to help my husband pack for deployment. I don't know what it is like to get up every morning and know suddenly I have to do everything plus worry about him while he is in combat or what it is like to worry about a car pulling up in front of the house with strangers preparing to give me the news he isn't coming home.

When I was growing up I was surrounded by veterans. My uncles were WWII veterans and my Dad was a Korean vet. My Mom and her sisters knew what it was like to go through those years. I was born well after they all came home. Even though it was clear they were changed by what they experienced, they seemed to be doing fine.

When Vietnam veterans, like my husband came home, wives like me had no clue how much they would change in just a year. My husband came home in 1971 but we didn't meet until 1982, so I had no idea what he as like before Vietnam. Honestly before I met him, I was like most people in the country, ignoring what was going on. When he enlisted at the age of 17, I was only 10. I was in what was called Jr. High, now called Middle School when he came home at the age of 19. Up until the age of 23 when we met, I didn't want to know what war was like.

All that said, I understand why young wives and husbands want to avoid learning about war just as much as they want to avoid learning about PTSD. I get it. I understand how someone could want to push all of it out of their head. What I don't get is the idea of ignoring it will make it all go away.

If everything available to today's veterans and families was available to us when we had nothing to learn from, our lives would have been much different. Our parents wouldn't talk about it and the Internet was still a pipe dream. It was very hard to find other families connected to Vietnam but really easy to find families connected to the protestors.

You don't know how lucky you are to grow up in the technology age when information and support is available with Google search. Lucky living with PTSD? Absolutely because if you have knowledge you have the tools you need to help them heal. As with everything else, if you never learn how to use the tools, you can't fix anything. Take the time to learn what PTSD is and then you'll be amazed with the simple fact you saw then through their darkest days arriving years later with a strong bond and a strong marriage. Not learning what PTSD is a guaranteed divorce and quite possibly standing by a grave because they committed suicide. When they feel as if you are all they have and you turn against them out of ignorance, they feel they have lost all hope. Fight this battle by their side and then you can look back 30 years later knowing the battle was well worth it.

As deployment looms, military families say war takes its toll on them, too
Posted: Thu, Sep 22, 2011
By Juliana Keeping
AnnArbor.com Health and Environment Reporter


National Guard solider Drew Cummings smiles as he poses for a photograph with his wife Amy and their 4-year-old daughter Ella in their Milan apartment.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
Leaving his wife, Amy, and young daughter, Ella, was the hardest thing Drew Cummings had experienced when he left for Iraq in 2008.

“She’s standing there, watching me go, and I could hear her sobbing, saying ‘Please don’t go,’ and Ella was crying. It was awful,” he said.

It turned out the year-long separation during war would be the easy part.
The family's biggest battle hit when Drew came home.

Drew and Amy Cummings’ marriage hit rock bottom in the months following his return in late 2008 from his first deployment with the Michigan Army National Guard.

Now, Drew is set to deploy for a second time with the Michigan Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Unit. Its call sign is the Viking Battalion.

Drew, 25, will leave Amy, 27, and Ella, 4, for one year.

He extended his contract with the National Guard in order to deploy to Afghanistan again. Cummings will make the trip with fellow soldiers Neil Gikas, 26 and his superior, and Adam Betz, profiled on AnnArbor.com on 9/11. All three will share their stories with AnnArbor.com in the series "Vikings War" until the deployment ends.

Cummings and Betz, 30, know deployment can take a toll on families. Betz and his wife divorced following the battalion's 2008 deployment. Cummings came home full of rage and unable to sleep. For months, Cummings refused to acknowledge anything was wrong.

“It’s got to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Amy said, tearing up. “The hardest situation I’ve ever had to deal with. Afterwards is the worst.”

Drew was suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, an anxiety disorder that can cause a wide range of symptoms, including nightmares, insomnia, depression, frightening thoughts, emotional numbness and other issues.

With help from doctors and counselors, they got through it.
read more here

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

9 missing WWII troops’ remains identified

9 missing WWII troops’ remains identified
By Will Lester - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Sep 21, 2011 9:15:46 EDT
WASHINGTON — Nine servicemen who died when their bomber was shot down over the Pacific during World War II have been identified, and their remains will be buried in a single casket at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

The Pentagon says the men took off in their B-17E Flying Fortress named “Naughty But Nice” in June 1943 from an airfield in Papua New Guinea. The plane was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and then shot down by Japanese fighter aircraft.

Army Air Forces 1st Lt. William J. Sarsfield of Philadelphia; 2nd Lt. Charles E. Trimingham of Salinas, Calif.; Tech. Sgt. Robert L. Christopherson of Blue Earth, Minn.; and Tech. Sgt. Leonard A. Gionet of Shirley, Mass., will be buried as a group in a single casket Wednesday at Arlington.
read more here

I interviewed Tech. Sgt. Gionet's nephew Sunday at the Vietnam War Museum during the POW-MIA event.

Guns account for 70% of the military suicides

Guns and Military Connected Suicides
An Army Psychiatrist feels that gun control is an issue. A Fort Bragg Brigade Commander disagrees.
By Kelly Twedell

In June this past year, ELSPETH CAMERON RITCHIE, one of the Army's top psychiatrists posted a story in Time Magazine about the reality of the issue at hand involving suicide and guns in the Army.

Guns account for 70% of the military suicides.

According to Ritchie, in theater, these deaths are typically linked to government-issued weapons. Back at home, they are usually by the service member's personal weapon. Do you know anyone in the military who does not own at least one firearm?

After his involvement in hundreds of cases, including investigations at Fort Bragg he attributes both alcohol and easy access to weapons as a major theme.

"This is especially true in the impulsive suicides, those precipitated by an acute break-up or getting in trouble in work", said Ritchie.

Having been around Army communities for 14 years, other root causes that have surfaced are financial issues, morale when dealing with operational tempo (OPTEMPO) tied to deployments, and family matters.
read more here

Suicide's silent victims speak out

Suicide's silent victims speak out
September 19, 2011

By Patricia Deal,
Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Public Affairs

FORT HOOD, Texas, Sept. 19, 2011 -- It just wasn't something you talked about -- ever."

"To this day, my daughter won't talk about her brother."

"I thought I was OK all these years, but just out of the blue it hit me and I couldn't stop crying."

These are cries of pain and anguish from members of the Army family personally affected by the trauma of suicide.

Some lost a parent, a sibling, a child, a co-worker, a friend. Some are survivors from their own attempts.

They are Soldiers, civilians, spouses. They come from all areas and some even work in the behavioral health field. No profession or rank is exempt from the dark reaches of suicide.

All agreed to tell their stories in hopes their experiences can help other "silent victims," those impacted by the trauma of suicide, and help themselves heal a bit in the process.

Nancy Gist's experience has made her an advocate of sorts for speaking out against the stigma associated with suicide.

Her youngest brother shot himself in the head exactly one month after his 19th birthday.
read more here

The Private Worry of Marines in Afghanistan

The Private Worry of Marines in Afghanistan
September 21, 2011
Associated Press|by Christopher Torchia
FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, Afghanistan -- It is a conversation, the military surgeon says, that every U.S. Marine has with his corpsman, the buddy who is first to treat him if he is wounded by an insurgent's bomb.

The Marine says, " 'If I lose my manhood, then I don't want to live through it,' " according to Navy Lt. Richard Whitehead, surgeon for 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which is fighting in one of the most treacherous combat areas of Afghanistan.

"They ask us not to save them if their 'junk' gets blown off," said Whitehead, using a slang term for genitals. "Usually, we laugh. We joke with them about it. At the same time, you know that you're going to treat them anyway."

This is a world of fear, resolve and dark humor that is mostly hidden from accounts of the human cost of the war in Afghanistan. American troops who patrol on foot in bomb-laced areas know they might lose a leg, or two, if they step in the wrong place. But for young men in their prime, most unmarried and without children, the prospect of losing their sexual organs seems even worse.
Whitehead said: "It's one of the areas we can't put a tourniquet on."
read more here

Amputations Up Sharply for Troops in Afghan War

Amputations Up Sharply for Troops in Afghan War
September 21, 2011
Associated Press|by Pauline Jelinek
WASHINGTON -- The counterinsurgency tactic that is sending U.S. troops out on foot patrols among the Afghan people, rather than riding in armored vehicles, has contributed to a dramatic increase in arm and leg amputations, genital injuries and the loss of multiple limbs following blast injuries.

These devastating injuries affect unit morale. They also give rise to talk on the battlefield that some troops had made secret pacts not to help each other survive if they were so severely injured, a new report said Tuesday.

The number of U.S. troops who had amputations rose sharply from 86 in 2009, to 187 in 2010 and 147 so far this year, military officials said Tuesday, releasing the report on catastrophic wounds.

Of those, the number of troops who lost two or three limbs rose from 23 in 2009 to 72 last year to 77 so far this year. Only a dozen or so of all amputations came from Iraq and the rest were from Afghanistan, where militants are pressing the insurgency with roadside bombs, handmade land mines and other explosives.
read more here

There are two Iraq veterans with amputations in this video. They are not just numbers, but young men with so much hope for their future it is clear to see. They don't want you to feel sorry for them but they need your help to make sure their future is as bright as possible. When you hear them, notice that no matter what happened to them, they are hopeful.

Paul "Russ" Marek
Branch: Army
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Home: Melbourne, FL

SSG Paul Russell Marek was serving with the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq when his tank was destroyed by an IED. Three of his crew members perished in the explosion and Russ lost his right leg and right arm, his right ear and left thumb and suffered brain injury and severe burns over 20 percent of his body. That happend on September 16, 2005 as he rode in a tank near Baghdad.
Homes for Our Troops already built a home for Russ. Russ went to visit Winter, the dolphin with the missing tail, and found hope knowing a dolphin without a tail could learn to swim, he could learn to walk missing a leg and adapt with the missing arm.


Luis Puertas
Branch: Army
Rank: Specialist
Home: Orlando, FL

Army SPC Luis Puertas was left a double amputee after an EFP explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 20, 2006. SPC Puertas was the driver of the lead HUMVEE on a daily patrol near Sadr City when an unseen EFP, planted at the base of a light pole launched into the vehicle, amputating both of his legs on impact. Leaving him trapped beneath the 400 pound up-armored door of the HUMVEE. Miraculously, his team was able to extricate him from the wreckage, and prepare him for medevac from the scene.

Homes for Our Troops is almost done building a home for Luis. He's full of hope too. After all, he met his girlfriend Amber after he came home from Iraq and they fell in love.

I met these incredible veterans when the Orlando Nam Knights held an event to raise money to help build the house.



Helping Veterans In Central PA Find A Job

Helping Veterans In Central PA Find A Job
The Lancaster Vets Center Holds Job Fair
Nava Ghalili
Multi-media Journalist
5:29 p.m. EDT, September 20, 2011

EAST LAMPETER TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER COUNTY— Many veterans deal with a lot more than Post-traumatic Stress Disorder when they return home, so many are without jobs.

"I did not have a job waiting for me, actually I was on unemployment for a while," said Army and National Guard veteran, Michael Perez.

Sign up for breaking news text message alerts from FOX43!

Resource officers from a number of vet supporting agencies brought their employment tips to a job fair in Lancaster County Tuesday.

The job fair at Lancaster Vets Center in East Lampeter Township welcomed veterans for the first time since their doors opened this year.
read more here

Gone With The Flesh, heavy metal band takes on PTSD

Band of airmen take on PTSD (VIDEO, SLIDESHOW)
Gone with the Flesh competes tonight to open at Fuel concert in Pensacola
September 20, 2011 4:33 PM

NAVARRE — A local band’s military background has influenced the hardcore heavy metal music they write and play.

From deployed days to weapon references, the military experience flows through many of the songs written and performed by Gone with the Flesh.

Bassist Jenn Goode said one subject close to the hearts of band members is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“We all have family members or friends that have been affected by PTSD which is why we are so strongly emotional about getting the word out there,” Goode said. “Our music is what helps us deal with all of our personal issues; it is definitely a great stress relief.”

Goode, a medic in the Gulf War, said she came back with a minor case of PTSD after working a mass casualty event and treating victims of an improvised explosive device.
read more here

PTSD on Trial:Rep. Daniel P. Gordon explains his recent arrests

UPDATE to this story sent by a reader, Corporal Roy

Records show R.I. Rep. Gordon didn’t serve in Gulf, as claimed
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, September 24, 2011
By Karen Lee Ziner

Journal Staff Writer
State Rep. Daniel P. Gordon holds a news conference Wednesday in Portsmouth announcing he will not resign.
The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

State Rep. Daniel P. Gordon, who blamed alcohol and legal problems on combat stress sustained in the 1991 Gulf War, never served in the Gulf, according to his military records. Gordon also claims that he suffered a shrapnel injury to his leg; however, his records do not list a Purple Heart, ordinarily awarded for injury sustained in combat.

“There appears to be no listing of combat tour of duty in the Middle East,” said Maj. Stewart T. Upton, head of media operations in the public affairs office for the Marine Corps at the Pentagon. “I don’t see a Kuwait Service Medal or any combat action or Purple Heart,” Upton said. Excepting any inaccuracies, “obviously we’re saying the information in front of us doesn’t have these tours of duty that he’s talking about.”

Gordon, R-Portsmouth, did not return calls or e-mails on Friday.
read more here


This is why there should be Veterans' Courts all over the country. Having PTSD as a veteran is not an excuse for committing crimes but it is a reason to provide true justice for the victims as well as the veteran. He should not get off the hook for "free" but if he does have PTSD, he should get the help he needs.
Rep. Daniel P. Gordon explains his recent arrests, incarceration and why he refuses to step down from office.
By Sandy McGee

Republican Rep. Daniel P. Gordon says "self-medicating with alcohol" to treat post-traumatic stress from wartime service led to his arrests in Massachusetts.

Gordon sat down with Portsmouth Patch on Tuesday to talk about his recent arrest, incarceration and why he refuses to step down from office.

Gordon attributes his past criminal record in Massachusetts to "self-medicating" with alcohol.

"When I returned home from overseas in the Marine Corps, I suffered a lot of issues that returning combat veterans do, namely post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as a physical ailment, and self-medicated it with alcohol.

"Each and everyone of those instances on my Massachusetts' record was directly or indirectly involved with alcohol. I've since received treatment for that...and continue to receive counseling for that."

Gordon, 42, of 35 Alan Ave., Portsmouth, was arrested on Friday, Sept. 16, as a fugitive from justice on a Massachusetts warrant for failure to appear on an eluding charge and other motor vehicle violations, according to the State Police report.

Gordon, a Marine Corps veteran, served in many countries, including Iraq in 1991. He also served in Kuwait, the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Japan and Guam.
read more here

Marines lip sink video from Afghanistan

Being a Digital Media student I can tell you that this took a great deal of time to do but, wow, worth it! It shows that our Marines are not just young, (my daughter's age) brave, (takes a lot of courage to be filmed) talented (when they perform like this) but have great imaginations too. One other thing that you may not have thought about but it also shows that no matter what is going on where they are, they are still like everyone else their age. Now imagine being in their age group having nothing more to worry about than college, getting a job and a girlfriend and partying with your friends while they have to worry about being so far away from home with bullets and bombs to worry about on top of what you do. Just amazing!


Uploaded by atarin18 on Sep 14, 2011

This is a video we made in Afghanistan before the Hold it against me video.
I do not own the music tracks it belongs to the below:
Justin Bieber Baby
Far east movement Like a G6
Black eyed peas dirty bit
kesha tik tok

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Vietnam 101st Airborne veteran still serving in Afghanistan

Face of Defense: Vietnam Vet Still in the Fight

By Army Spc. Jennifer Andersson
159th Combat Aviation Brigade
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Sept. 20, 2011 – Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Roy Brown proved his mettle as a combat pilot in Vietnam. Now, 41 years later, he’s proving his stamina and love of the military with service in Afghanistan.

Brown, who also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, began his career with the 101st Airborne Division, and is serving with the Screaming Eagles again as his career draws to a close. As the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade’s liaison officer to the Air Force’s 702nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, which supports Regional Command – South here, Brown is in no hurry to retire.

“Call it patriotism or call it my admiration of the Army’s principles -- its organizational objectives and goals, its performance over the decades in areas not only of military success, but what I think of as social equity,” he said. “But your life’s works need to have a higher purpose.”

Explaining how his career began, the Oklahoma native said it was a $5 bill that transformed his boyhood dream into reality in 1971.
read more here

Wounded Iraq Veteran Dancing With the Stars

Ex-Fort Campbell soldier takes lead on 'Dancing With the Stars'
Written by
Philip Grey and Alane S. Megna
Gannett Tennessee
J.R. Martinez danced a Viennese Waltz with Karina Smirnoff Monday night on Dancing with the Stars. / Craig Sjodin / ABC
J.R. Martinez, an Iraq war veteran and former Fort Campbell soldier who spent 34 months in the hospital after being severely burned in combat, had already become a motivational speaker and soap opera star. Now he can add another feather to his cap: High scorer on Dancing With The Stars.

Martinez and his professional partner Karina Smirnoff tied for the top score during the season premiere Monday night, with judge Carrie Ann Inaba, on the verge of tears, saying “I was absolutely touched by your performance.”

Martinez, who required skin grafts and reconstructive surgery after being burned over 40 percent of his body, points to one moment as a “life-changer” — when medical personnel asked him to talk to another soldier who was badly disfigured and unable to cope.
read more here

3 Doors down, Home Depot Mission Continues

3 DOORS DOWN’S CHRIS HENDERSON DISCUSSES CHARITY, MUSICALITY AND LONGEVITY
by: Anne Erickson Yesterday

Universal Republic

It’s fitting the gents of 3 Doors Down are involved in the recent efforts of the Home Depot Foundation and the Mission Continues to help rebuild the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, a place for homeless veterans recovering from substance abuse, mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder. After all, the Mississippi band are long known for their dedication to the troops and their extensive charity work through their own Better Life Foundation.

“We feel like the troops give up so much, and their families give up everything, sometimes even their lives,” guitarist Chris Henderson tells Loudwire in an exclusive interview. “They’re not really doing it for the money, either. When they come back, they need our support and they need America’s support. We feel it’s our duty. The least we can do is give back.”
read more here

PTSD decorated veteran, tasered by police, files lawsuit

Tasered Veteran Files Lawsuit Against New Lenox Police
Brian Wilhelm, 28, was Tasered by police in December 2010 while trying to help people in a car accident. The lawsuit claims officers acted with "reckless disregard" and maliciously prosecuted him.
By Michael Sewall
New Lenox police officers used "reckless disregard" when they Tasered resident Brian Wilhelm last year, a recently filed lawsuit against the officers claims.

Wilhelm, a 28-year-old Army veteran who was Tasered in December by New Lenox police, and his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Aug. 23 in the U.S. District Court for the northern district of Illinois.

The lawsuit states that Wilhelm is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, but his attorney, Lewis Gainor, would not put a dollar amount to what he wants.

Wilhelm came to help at the scene of a Dec. 11 car accident near his home at Woodlawn and Wisconsin roads. After trying to assist an injured passenger, Wilhelm got into a confrontation with New Lenox police officer Mark Klausner.
read more here

101st Airborne Paratroopers jump into Michigan Stadium on YouTube

Michigan vs Notre Dame 2011, paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army, jump into Michigan Stadium during the half time show.

Five people found dead after Tennessee motorcycle charity run

Five people found dead after Tennessee motorcycle charity run

By Tim Ghianni
NASHVILLE, Tenn
Sun Sep 18, 2011
(Reuters) - Five people who were part of a charity motorcycle run in Tennessee, were found dead at a campground where bikers were staying after the Saturday event, organizers said on Sunday.

The bodies of the three men and two women were found in a camper at the Clarksville Speedway, where 200 bikers and their families were camped out. Local media said police were looking into carbon monoxide poisoning as a possible cause.

The bikers were part of a contingent of 1,500 riders, mostly on Harleys, who rode through the streets of Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday for the 30th Annual Leslie W. Watson Memorial Toy Run, sponsored by local charity Bikers Who Care.

Bikers must donate at least one new toy to participate, and the bikers had filled four trucks with items bound for the Clarksville Fire Department Christmas toy drive for underprivileged children.
read more here

Home Depot Foundation Announce 2012 Veteran Housing Rehabilitation Project

Sept. 19, 2011, 12:45 p.m. EDT
U.S.VETS and the Home Depot Foundation Announce 2012 Veteran Housing Rehabilitation Project for Homeless and Low-Income Veterans

Creating Transitional and Permanent Housing for 170 Veterans and Veteran Families in St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

LOS ANGELES, Sep 19, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- The United States Veterans Initiative (U.S.VETS) and The Home Depot(R) Foundation today announced the 2012 Veteran Housing Rehabilitation project to expand housing for homeless and low-income veterans in the District of Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri. As part of its "Celebration of Service" initiative to honor U.S. military veterans, The Home Depot(R) Foundation has awarded U.S.VETS $400,000 to support the launch of its newest site in St. Louis and increase the capacity of its location in the Nation's capital.

Funding from The Home Depot Foundation will enable U.S.VETS to expand its presence and provide programs and services to twice as many veterans in the D.C. area, while also replicating many of its most successful programs for a new population of veterans in St. Louis. These services include residential and reintegration programs for disabled veterans; education, employment and preventative mental health services for recently returned Iraq and Afghanistan veterans; as well as focused and specific services for women veterans.

"A new generation of men and women are coming home from service to fight another battle -- the transition back to civilian life," said Stephen Peck, President and CEO of U.S.VETS. "They join thousands of veterans from previous wars in their struggles with homelessness, unemployment, and mental trauma. We are grateful to have the support of The Home Depot Foundation and this opportunity to expand our services and presence in the places where veterans' needs are also growing."



They are doing it right here in Orlando too!
Home Depot Mission Continues at DAV

If you are a veteran support Home Depot because they support you!

U.S. army braces itself for increase in PTSD in sniffer dogs

U.S. army braces itself for increase in PTSD in sniffer dogs
by Mark Glenning on September 20, 2011
The American Marine Corps is taking steps to combat post-traumatic stress disorder in its’ bomb sniffing dogs, as it prepares to increase the number of those on duty in Afghanistan.

The highly trained canines recently hit the news when Cairo, a Belgian Malinois, accompanied the team that stormed the compound of Osama Bin Laden in May. So far, he is the only personnel to be named as taking part in the operation.

However, as the armed forces begin to rely on dogs more and more, the numbers that are wounded or killed on the front line are rising steadily. In fact, 14 highly trained dogs have died on the front line since May 2010. In that period, six were wounded and three are still missing in action.

Richard Vargus, who is head of law enforcement at the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), understands the support that is required to rehabilitate dogs that have been at the sharp end in the fight against the Taliban. He commented:

“Our biggest issue that we have with canines is canine PTSD.”

“We’ve seen a significant issue with that because when you’re standing 10 feet away from an explosion, the dog has emotions and the dog is affected as well.”
read more here

Marine awarded for combat invention

Marine awarded for combat invention

Staff Sgt. Craig S. Cooper received the Lambertsen award for operational invented a pocket-sized device that incorporated a crowbar claw and a wrench to help open blast doors on armored vehicles.
Don Bryan/The Daily News
September 20, 2011 5:25 AM
HOPE HODGE
Like many inventions, it began with an unsolved problem.

Deployed to Afghanistan with 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion in 2010, Staff Sgt. Craig S. Cooper, a motor transport chief, found that armored vehicle blast doors on several of the personnel carriers were difficult to open from the outside in the event that they were hit and flipped or rolled over, which was not uncommon. While the vehicles were equipped with a tool that released all their doors, it was too large to carry and sometimes could not be reached if the armored transport was upside down.

“We came up with the idea to make one tool that would open up all the blast locks,” said Cooper, 38.

The result was simple, but effective: a pocket-sized device that incorporated a crowbar claw and a wrench. Cooper knew it would come through in a crisis, and in November, a crisis would prove him right.
read more here

Suspect in Yuma Marine shooting broke weapons rules

Suspect in Marine shooting broke weapons rules
September 19, 2011 7:28 PM
BY MARA KNAUB - SUN STAFF WRITER
Although Saturday's shooting of a Marine appears to be accidental, the suspect is still facing charges of breaking Marine Corps Air Station rules regarding the transportation of weapons.

The shooting occurred just after midnight near the Navy Federal Credit Union Bank in the proximity of Hart Street and Thomas Avenue.

Investigators from the Naval Criminal and Investigative Service identified the shooter as another Marine, who used a .45-caliber pistol. His name will not be released until formal charges are filed, according to Capt. Staci Reidinger, director of public affairs for the MCAS Yuma.

The shooting appears to be an accidental discharge, said Reidinger. However, “rules were broken in this case. They are deciding what formal charges to bring against him.”

She expects charges to be filed sometime this week. In the meantime, the suspect is being held in pretrial restrictions pending disciplinary action, she said.

The victim, Lance Cpl. Daryl Adams, 22, “is doing well with recovery at Yuma Regional Medical Center,” she added. Officials are working to bring his family to Yuma “to be with him as he recovers.”
red more here

Exeter Marine Reservist Dies In Colorado Shooting

Exeter Marine Reservist Dies In Colorado Shooting

Police: Fellow Marine Corps Reservist Accidentally Shot Victim
September 20, 2011


EXETER, N.H. -- A Marine Corps reservist died over the weekend after what police said was a tragic incident.

Benton Brubaker, 24, was shot by a fellow Marine Corps reservist at a gathering in Colorado on Thursday, and officers said alcohol may have played a role in the shooting.

Officers said they arrested Barton Enoch, 25, and charged him with manslaughter.

According to a press release, "detectives are looking at the possibility that alcohol may have contributed to this tragic set of circumstances."

Police in Aurora said about six Marine Corps reservists were inside a condominium unit just after midnight when a single shot was fired from a handgun.
read more here