Taking His Doctor’s Advice Could Cost a Combat Veteran His Apartment
By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: May 28, 2012
After Eugene Ovsishcher returned from a nine-month combat tour in Afghanistan, he experienced what his doctors called symptoms of post-traumatic stress: nightmares, flashbacks and a pervasive anxiety. A psychiatrist advised him to get a dog, and last August he did — a shaggy, mocha Shih Tzu puppy that Mr. Ovsishcher named Mickey because he crawled like a mouse.
The dog proved to be the right medicine, Mr. Ovsishcher said: Mickey woke him from nightmares by sensing something was wrong and barking, settled him down when he was alone and anxious, and even checked up on him “like a registered nurse” when he had a fever.
“Take a look at his face,” Mr. Ovsishcher said, comparing Mickey to Chewbacca, the hairy character in the “Star Wars” series. “You can’t stay anxious or angry or whatever. You look at that face and you start laughing.”
But now Mr. Ovsishcher is facing eviction from his three-bedroom co-op at Trump Village in Coney Island, Brooklyn, because the housing complex has a no-dogs policy. He is wrestling with a kind of Sophie’s Choice: his home or his dog.
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Monday, May 28, 2012
Veterans filing for disability benefits at highest rate in history
This is what happens when people do not pay attention. When troops were sent into Afghanistan, there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than during the Gulf War. When wounded were coming back from Afghanistan and the push was on to get Vietnam veterans to file claims for PTSD and Agent Orange by service groups, more troops were sent into Iraq. No one thought about the veterans from any wars. What did voters do? Nothing. They did not hold their politicians accountable. It didn't matter if they were Republican or Democrat, Independent or didn't vote at all, veterans should always be a national issue since this nation sends them from every part of this country.
If you want to really say you honor the fallen then we better do a better job of taking care of the living.
If you want to really say you honor the fallen then we better do a better job of taking care of the living.
Iraq, Afghanistan vets filing for disability benefits at highest rate in history
Meg Farris
Eyewitness News
NEW ORLEANS -- The men and women veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan are filing for disability benefits at the highest rate in U.S. history.
Forty-five percent are seeking claims. That's double the rate from the Gulf War in the 1990s.
At Monday's Memorial Day gatherings, wounded veterans of the past talked about their experience with getting benefits. People in the packed Fleet Reserve Association hall in Gretna stood to salute the flag and sing the Star-Spangled Banner.
These veterans came home a generation or two ago with unforgettable experiences.
"We were being shot at when a Viet Cong with an M79 grenade launcher, and it is frightful when you hear those things coming in, and there was an explosion. I didn't know where I was," said James Tompson.
He is a marine and a Vietnam veteran who was awarded the Purple Heart when his arm was injured. Four years ago he filed for disability benefits for a brain condition. He is still waiting.
"Especially when it comes to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and either anything, it seems to be taking an awfully long time for the VA to sort it out," said Tompson.
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Wounded Times gave you the story first again
Why do I spend so many hours tracking stories across the country? Because the big boy media companies don't seem to care enough to do it. Wounded Times does it again! It took Associated Press all this time to pick up on this story but Wounded Times had it posted back in February. This happens all the time. Because veterans and the troops are all that is posted here, you get the stories first. How about you email them and ask them what took so long to report this.
Here's the AP story or you can click the link above for the way it was first reported.
Originally published May 28, 2012 at 5:45 AM | Page modified May 28, 2012 at 3:13 PM
Fallen Marine's letter marks Memorial Day in Kabul U.S. Marine Sgt. William Stacey was killed earlier this year by a homemade bomb in southern Afghanistan, a tragedy for which he prepared by writing a letter to his family explaining why he was fighting that was to be read in the event of his death.
By SEBASTIAN ABBOT
Associated Press
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Friday, February 3, 2012
Fallen Marine Sgt. William Stacey's last letter, "it was all worth it" This is what makes them so different from the rest of us. This last letter to Sgt. Stacey's family tells them that for all the talk for and against what he was doing, he believed he was making a difference in this world. He didn't serve to do anything other than do some good for someone. We can talk about everything else but in the end, this is what it all comes down to. They are willing to die for each other, surrender whatever comforts they have at home to travel around the world but once they do, most of the country moves on, forgetting about them.
Here's the AP story or you can click the link above for the way it was first reported.
Originally published May 28, 2012 at 5:45 AM | Page modified May 28, 2012 at 3:13 PM
Fallen Marine's letter marks Memorial Day in Kabul U.S. Marine Sgt. William Stacey was killed earlier this year by a homemade bomb in southern Afghanistan, a tragedy for which he prepared by writing a letter to his family explaining why he was fighting that was to be read in the event of his death.
By SEBASTIAN ABBOT
Associated Press
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Helicopter Crash Kills 2 NATO Soldiers in Afghanistan
Helicopter Crash Kills 2 NATO Soldiers in Afghanistan
VOA News
May 28, 2012
NATO officials said two coalition members were killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan Monday.
The coalition said it is investigating the cause of the crash. Initial reports said there was no enemy activity in the area.
Earlier, another coalition aircraft also crashed in eastern Afghanistan. There were no fatalities in that crash.
Also Monday, an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan killed a NATO service member.
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VOA News
May 28, 2012
NATO officials said two coalition members were killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan Monday.
The coalition said it is investigating the cause of the crash. Initial reports said there was no enemy activity in the area.
Earlier, another coalition aircraft also crashed in eastern Afghanistan. There were no fatalities in that crash.
Also Monday, an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan killed a NATO service member.
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Family Remembers Local Marine’s PTSD Struggle
Family Remembers Local Marine’s PTSD Struggle
May 28, 2012
Reporting Stephanie Lucero
NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – The memories of the battles he fought in Iraq came home, to Fairview, with Corporal Gregory Schneider.
It was the long, confidential conversations he had with his father that helped Schneider rise above the darkness that overwhelmed him after his return from battle in Iraq.
Schneider died at home on Memorial Day in 2010. He was killed in a motorcycle accident that happened when he tried to get onto I-75 Central Expressway at Haskell, in Dallas.
Just one day before the crash the Schneider family had gotten together for lunch, to recognize Memorial Day.
Now two years later, before today’s memorial service at DFW National Cemetery in Dallas, Schneider’s parents visited his grave and talked to CBS 11 News about their son’s accomplishments and challenges trying to overcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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May 28, 2012
Reporting Stephanie Lucero
NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – The memories of the battles he fought in Iraq came home, to Fairview, with Corporal Gregory Schneider.
It was the long, confidential conversations he had with his father that helped Schneider rise above the darkness that overwhelmed him after his return from battle in Iraq.
Schneider died at home on Memorial Day in 2010. He was killed in a motorcycle accident that happened when he tried to get onto I-75 Central Expressway at Haskell, in Dallas.
Just one day before the crash the Schneider family had gotten together for lunch, to recognize Memorial Day.
Now two years later, before today’s memorial service at DFW National Cemetery in Dallas, Schneider’s parents visited his grave and talked to CBS 11 News about their son’s accomplishments and challenges trying to overcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
read more here
President Obama Guest Column in Stars and Stripes for Vietnam Veterans
42 minutes ago
Guest column
Keeping faith with Vietnam veterans
By BARACK OBAMA
President of the United States
Published: May 28, 2012
Today, all across America, we’re coming together to remember our men and women in uniform who gave their lives so that we could live free. In town squares and national cemeteries, in moments of quiet reflection and parades down city streets, we’ll pay tribute to all those who gave the last full measure of their devotion, from Lexington and Concord to Iraq and Afghanistan.
This Memorial Day also holds special significance because it marks the beginning of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. It was 50 years ago — January 1962 — when U.S. Army pilots on dozens of helicopters transported South Vietnamese troops into the jungles outside Saigon for a raid against enemy forces. It was one of America’s first major operations in Vietnam and another turning point in what would become one of our longest wars.
Today at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., I’ll join Vietnam veterans and their families for a ceremony to begin this 50th anniversary. It will be an occasion to honor the 58,282 names on The Wall—men and women who gave their lives in that war. We’ll stand with their families, who have borne that loss ever since. And we’ll reaffirm our commitment to never stop searching for the 1,666 service members who are still missing from that war.
After Vietnam, our veterans didn’t always receive the respect and thanks they deserved. At times they were neglected and even shunned, which was a national shame. We’ve pledged many times since Vietnam that we would never let that happen again, and that we would give our veterans, especially our Vietnam Veterans, the respect and honor they deserve. This 50th anniversary is our opportunity to do it right.
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This is what happened to Medal Of Honor Hero, Vietnam Veteran, Sammy Davis. He was beaten up at the airport after he saved lives in Vietnam.
Guest column
Keeping faith with Vietnam veterans
By BARACK OBAMA
President of the United States
Published: May 28, 2012
Today, all across America, we’re coming together to remember our men and women in uniform who gave their lives so that we could live free. In town squares and national cemeteries, in moments of quiet reflection and parades down city streets, we’ll pay tribute to all those who gave the last full measure of their devotion, from Lexington and Concord to Iraq and Afghanistan.
This Memorial Day also holds special significance because it marks the beginning of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. It was 50 years ago — January 1962 — when U.S. Army pilots on dozens of helicopters transported South Vietnamese troops into the jungles outside Saigon for a raid against enemy forces. It was one of America’s first major operations in Vietnam and another turning point in what would become one of our longest wars.
Today at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., I’ll join Vietnam veterans and their families for a ceremony to begin this 50th anniversary. It will be an occasion to honor the 58,282 names on The Wall—men and women who gave their lives in that war. We’ll stand with their families, who have borne that loss ever since. And we’ll reaffirm our commitment to never stop searching for the 1,666 service members who are still missing from that war.
After Vietnam, our veterans didn’t always receive the respect and thanks they deserved. At times they were neglected and even shunned, which was a national shame. We’ve pledged many times since Vietnam that we would never let that happen again, and that we would give our veterans, especially our Vietnam Veterans, the respect and honor they deserve. This 50th anniversary is our opportunity to do it right.
read more here
This is what happened to Medal Of Honor Hero, Vietnam Veteran, Sammy Davis. He was beaten up at the airport after he saved lives in Vietnam.
Obama on Memorial Day Recalls the Fallen
Obama on Memorial Day Recalls the Fallen
Winding Down of Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan
By Jon Garcia
May 28, 2012
Under bright, hazy skies at Arlington National Cemetery, President Obama spent his fourth Memorial Day as commander in chief honoring the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died serving their country, particularly in the Vietnam War, which began more than 50 years ago.
“From the jungles of Vietnam to the mountains of Afghanistan, they stepped forward and answered the call,” Obama told hundreds gathered in the humid, midday heat at the cemetery, which is across the Potomac River from the capital.
”They fought for a home they might never return to; they fought for buddies they’ll never forget. While their stories may be separated by hundreds of years and thousands of miles, they rest here, together. Side by side, row by row. Because each of them loved this country and everything it stands for more than life itself.”
Heeding to custom, Obama also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, pausing to reflect and pray as a lone bugler played taps.
Obama took pains to point out that “for the first time in nine years Americans are not fighting and dying in Iraq.”
That declaration drew applause, as did his pronouncement that “we are winding down the war in Afghanistan and our troops will continue to come home.
“After a decade under the dark cloud of war, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon,” Obama said, pointing out that we need to remember not only the fallen but their families too.
“As a country, all of us can and should ask ourselves how we can help you shoulder a burden that nobody should have to bear alone,” he said.
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Winding Down of Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan
By Jon Garcia
May 28, 2012
"The White House announced last week that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the National Park Service and the Department of Defense had launched a 13-year program to “to honor and give thanks to a generation of proud Americans who saw our country through one of the most challenging missions we have ever faced.”
It was 50 years ago in January that the U.S. began to provide helicopter support to the South Vietnamese. That action grew into a 13-year conflict that took more than 58,000 American lives."
Under bright, hazy skies at Arlington National Cemetery, President Obama spent his fourth Memorial Day as commander in chief honoring the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died serving their country, particularly in the Vietnam War, which began more than 50 years ago.
“From the jungles of Vietnam to the mountains of Afghanistan, they stepped forward and answered the call,” Obama told hundreds gathered in the humid, midday heat at the cemetery, which is across the Potomac River from the capital.
”They fought for a home they might never return to; they fought for buddies they’ll never forget. While their stories may be separated by hundreds of years and thousands of miles, they rest here, together. Side by side, row by row. Because each of them loved this country and everything it stands for more than life itself.”
Heeding to custom, Obama also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, pausing to reflect and pray as a lone bugler played taps.
Obama took pains to point out that “for the first time in nine years Americans are not fighting and dying in Iraq.”
That declaration drew applause, as did his pronouncement that “we are winding down the war in Afghanistan and our troops will continue to come home.
“After a decade under the dark cloud of war, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon,” Obama said, pointing out that we need to remember not only the fallen but their families too.
“As a country, all of us can and should ask ourselves how we can help you shoulder a burden that nobody should have to bear alone,” he said.
read more here
Wounded warrior's rehab heroic, too
Wounded warrior's rehab heroic, too
Jonathan Gurwitz
Express-News columnist
Saturday, May 26, 2012
On New Year's Eve 2010, Lt. Larkin O'Hern was leading an infantry platoon of the 101st Airborne Division, clearing a Taliban compound in southern Afghanistan when a cache of explosives detonated.
The blast blew off O'Hern's left leg completely and shredded his right leg and arm. As darkness fell over the village of Howz-e-Madad, the only question appeared to be whether O'Hern — bleeding profusely — would be the final U.S. death in Afghanistan of 2010, or the first of 2011.
In fact, O'Hern would survive — a tribute to the advances in American military medicine, to the skill of medics and medevac teams, and to his own fortitude. When I met him last May, the triple amputee had just stood up for the first time on prosthetic limbs after more than four months of surgeries at Brooke Army Medical Center and grueling rehabilitation at the Center for the Intrepid.
At the time, the West Point graduate had set a goal of flying to Fort Campbell, Ky., to greet his returning battalion — standing. Twelve months later, I visited with O'Hern again. He was walking — with a cane, but nonetheless walking, and carrying a backpack. Did he make it to Fort Campbell?
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Jonathan Gurwitz
Express-News columnist
Saturday, May 26, 2012
On New Year's Eve 2010, Lt. Larkin O'Hern was leading an infantry platoon of the 101st Airborne Division, clearing a Taliban compound in southern Afghanistan when a cache of explosives detonated.
The blast blew off O'Hern's left leg completely and shredded his right leg and arm. As darkness fell over the village of Howz-e-Madad, the only question appeared to be whether O'Hern — bleeding profusely — would be the final U.S. death in Afghanistan of 2010, or the first of 2011.
In fact, O'Hern would survive — a tribute to the advances in American military medicine, to the skill of medics and medevac teams, and to his own fortitude. When I met him last May, the triple amputee had just stood up for the first time on prosthetic limbs after more than four months of surgeries at Brooke Army Medical Center and grueling rehabilitation at the Center for the Intrepid.
At the time, the West Point graduate had set a goal of flying to Fort Campbell, Ky., to greet his returning battalion — standing. Twelve months later, I visited with O'Hern again. He was walking — with a cane, but nonetheless walking, and carrying a backpack. Did he make it to Fort Campbell?
read more here
Return to Tarawa, WWII veteran Leon Cooper
Return to Tarawa
Synopsis
The story of Leon Cooper's -- World War II veteran and American original -- return to "Red Beach". Cooper, a veteran of the battle of "Bloody Tarawa," returned to Tarawa in February 2008 in order to learn more about reports he had read about garbage on the fabled "Red Beach."
In November 1943, Leon, a US Navy landing craft officer, helped launch the first major amphibious assault on a Central Pacific Japanese stronghold. Leon is dismayed to discover that this hallowed ground is strewn with garbage rotting in the sun, a painful insult to the sacrifice his fellow marines made for their country, during one of the bloodiest three-day battles in American war history.
Cooper's trip is full of wonder, anger, amazement and divine providence as he and film maker Steven C. Barber visit what Leon suspects to be the graves of hundreds of Marines still buried on Tarawa. Follow Leon Cooper's trip back in time, as narrated by Oscar-nominated actor, Ed Harris. A story of redemption and passion that will move you to tears.
Look for the new sequel from filmmaker Steven C. Barber, Until They Are Home. Coming Soon. Learn more at Until They Come Home
Synopsis
The story of Leon Cooper's -- World War II veteran and American original -- return to "Red Beach". Cooper, a veteran of the battle of "Bloody Tarawa," returned to Tarawa in February 2008 in order to learn more about reports he had read about garbage on the fabled "Red Beach."
In November 1943, Leon, a US Navy landing craft officer, helped launch the first major amphibious assault on a Central Pacific Japanese stronghold. Leon is dismayed to discover that this hallowed ground is strewn with garbage rotting in the sun, a painful insult to the sacrifice his fellow marines made for their country, during one of the bloodiest three-day battles in American war history.
Cooper's trip is full of wonder, anger, amazement and divine providence as he and film maker Steven C. Barber visit what Leon suspects to be the graves of hundreds of Marines still buried on Tarawa. Follow Leon Cooper's trip back in time, as narrated by Oscar-nominated actor, Ed Harris. A story of redemption and passion that will move you to tears.
Look for the new sequel from filmmaker Steven C. Barber, Until They Are Home. Coming Soon. Learn more at Until They Come Home
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Parents of captured U.S. soldier lead Washington motorcycle rally
Parents of captured U.S. soldier lead Washington motorcycle rally
By Stacey Samuel
CNN
updated 6:14 PM EDT, Sun May 27, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Bowe Bergdahl disappeared in June 2009 in Afghanistan
His parents lead the Rolling Thunder ride
Robert Bergdahl's message to his son: "Stay strong, never give up"
Washington (CNN) -- The parents of missing U.S. serviceman Bowe Bergdahl led the Rolling Thunder ride in Washington on Sunday, trailed by the roar of what was estimated to be hundreds of thousands of motorcycles.
The annual Memorial Day weekend ride, now in its 25th year, is held in remembrance of prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Bergdahl, a 26-year-old army sergeant, was captured in Afghanistan in 2009 after he finished his guard shift at a combat outpost in southeastern Paktika province.
read more here
By Stacey Samuel
CNN
updated 6:14 PM EDT, Sun May 27, 2012
Rolling Thunder motorcyclists ride into Washington on Sunday, the day before Memorial Day
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Bowe Bergdahl disappeared in June 2009 in Afghanistan
His parents lead the Rolling Thunder ride
Robert Bergdahl's message to his son: "Stay strong, never give up"
Washington (CNN) -- The parents of missing U.S. serviceman Bowe Bergdahl led the Rolling Thunder ride in Washington on Sunday, trailed by the roar of what was estimated to be hundreds of thousands of motorcycles.
The annual Memorial Day weekend ride, now in its 25th year, is held in remembrance of prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Bergdahl, a 26-year-old army sergeant, was captured in Afghanistan in 2009 after he finished his guard shift at a combat outpost in southeastern Paktika province.
read more here
Quadruple amputee vet Todd Nicely sees new home
The toll of war now includes more amputees
By Steve Almasy
CNN
Sun May 27, 2012
Frank Siller, left, and Gary Sinise, center, announce a concert to raise money for quadruple amputee vet Todd Nicely
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
More troops surviving bad wounds thanks to battlefield medicine, body armor
Badly wounded vets find help via special organizations
One group raises money to build special homes for triple, quadruple amputees
Expert: VA needs staff, money to handle growing wounded population
(CNN) -- Moments after the explosion, as he lay in a canal in rural Afghanistan, Cpl. Todd Nicely screamed twice at the top of his lungs. He was hurt so badly, his right leg blown away, his left one barely hanging on, but then he thought of two things.
His wife and his men.
He didn't think of dying.
He wanted to concentrate on getting home, and before that, he didn't want his squad's last image to be its leader wailing in pain.
"I just [told myself] keep breathing, keep breathing. If you do that you'll make it back to your wife," he said recently by phone. "I knew I was injured. It was whether I could bring myself to remain calm and not freak out and cause my vitals to go crazy."
What Nicely, who had stepped on the pressure plate of a roadside bomb, didn't realize at the time was that he had lost more than his legs. His arms also would need to be amputated.
In another war, another time, Nicely would have died on the battlefield.
Truth be told, there's a strong chance his heart did stop at some point on that day in March 2011. But thanks to modern body armor and a helicopter that arrived in just six minutes -- as well as quick reactions by his fellow Marines -- Nicely lived and became just the second quadruple amputee to survive battlefield injury wounds.
They are a small group, the quadruple amputee combat vets -- just five of them.
There are also 40 triple amputees. When they come home, they have their own set of issues, but many face the problems of every wounded vet. They start their new lives together.
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Military suicide families find support
Survivors of military suicide victims come together to grieve
By Rebecca Ruiz
For the family and friends of service members who died by suicide, Memorial Day can be not only a solemn day, but also a painful reminder that military suicides are not treated the same as combat deaths.
Kim Ruocco, the national director of suicide education and outreach at Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, has experienced this isolating grief firsthand. This weekend, she is bringing together about 100 suicide survivors at TAPS' annual Memorial Day weekend National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors.
"[Suicide survivors] are surrounded by people whose loved ones were killed in action," Ruocco said. "There's a real sense that their loved one's death was not an honorable death."
Ruocco's husband, Marine Corps Maj. John Ruocco, killed himself seven years ago. He was a Cobra helicopter pilot who ran 75 combat missions during a five-month deployment in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. He had struggled with depression in the past, particularly after a training accident in the 1990s when two Cobras collided in midair, and he lost four friends.
In February 2005, while living temporarily in a hotel room near Camp Pendleton in California, awaiting a redeployment to Iraq and considering mental health counseling, John Ruocco hanged himself.
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By Rebecca Ruiz
For the family and friends of service members who died by suicide, Memorial Day can be not only a solemn day, but also a painful reminder that military suicides are not treated the same as combat deaths.
Kim Ruocco, the national director of suicide education and outreach at Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, has experienced this isolating grief firsthand. This weekend, she is bringing together about 100 suicide survivors at TAPS' annual Memorial Day weekend National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors.
"[Suicide survivors] are surrounded by people whose loved ones were killed in action," Ruocco said. "There's a real sense that their loved one's death was not an honorable death."
Ruocco's husband, Marine Corps Maj. John Ruocco, killed himself seven years ago. He was a Cobra helicopter pilot who ran 75 combat missions during a five-month deployment in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. He had struggled with depression in the past, particularly after a training accident in the 1990s when two Cobras collided in midair, and he lost four friends.
In February 2005, while living temporarily in a hotel room near Camp Pendleton in California, awaiting a redeployment to Iraq and considering mental health counseling, John Ruocco hanged himself.
read more here
Lt. Col. Tosten talks about combat and PTSD
Service to country never ends
May. 26, 2012
Written by
Scott Rogers
Army Lt. Col. Tom Tosten led troops during stints in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, but the toughest battle he's had to fight was at home as he transitioned back into civilian life after four deployments over his military career.
Tosten's tours of duty included eight months in Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s followed by six months in Somalia in 1994. His most recent tours were 15 months in Iraq followed by another to Afghanistan.
His tour in Afghanistan was cut short after four months when Army officials decided to send him home for treatment for post traumatic stress disorder.
That's a decision that haunted him for months as he felt responsible for the well-being of the men and women in the Marines under his command and didn't want to leave them.
read more here
May. 26, 2012
Written by
Scott Rogers
Army Lt. Col. Tom Tosten led troops during stints in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, but the toughest battle he's had to fight was at home as he transitioned back into civilian life after four deployments over his military career.
Tosten's tours of duty included eight months in Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s followed by six months in Somalia in 1994. His most recent tours were 15 months in Iraq followed by another to Afghanistan.
His tour in Afghanistan was cut short after four months when Army officials decided to send him home for treatment for post traumatic stress disorder.
That's a decision that haunted him for months as he felt responsible for the well-being of the men and women in the Marines under his command and didn't want to leave them.
read more here
Mentally ill inmates on the rise in California prisons and jails
Mentally ill inmates on the rise in California prisons and jails
By Jocelyn Wiener
CHCF Center for Health Reporting
Published: Sunday, May. 27, 2012
MODESTO – Inmates with serious mental illnesses deemed incompetent to stand trial are languishing in California jail cells for months as they wait for state hospital beds to open up, according to advocates, jail officials and family members.
State and county budget cuts to mental health programs are combining with prison realignment and a shrinking number of state hospital beds to exacerbate the problem, they say.
In many counties, seriously mentally ill inmates routinely wait three to six months in jail before a state hospital bed opens up, said Randall Hagar, director of government affairs for the California Psychiatric Association. He calls the situation, which he says has gotten worse in recent years, "tragic."
read more here
By Jocelyn Wiener
CHCF Center for Health Reporting
Published: Sunday, May. 27, 2012
MODESTO – Inmates with serious mental illnesses deemed incompetent to stand trial are languishing in California jail cells for months as they wait for state hospital beds to open up, according to advocates, jail officials and family members.
State and county budget cuts to mental health programs are combining with prison realignment and a shrinking number of state hospital beds to exacerbate the problem, they say.
In many counties, seriously mentally ill inmates routinely wait three to six months in jail before a state hospital bed opens up, said Randall Hagar, director of government affairs for the California Psychiatric Association. He calls the situation, which he says has gotten worse in recent years, "tragic."
read more here
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