Why Veterans Make Excellent Employees

Why Veterans Make Excellent Employees
by EMILY
JULY 10, 2012

People have all kinds of mixed feelings when it comes to hiring veterans. The fact of the matter is, there are a multitude of benefits to hiring veterans, and most of the perceived drawbacks are based on myths. Unemployment is well-known to cause depression, and depression can exasperate PTSD symptoms. With unemployment of post 9/11 veterans at 16.7% according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association (IAVA) and 12.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) versus the civilian population at 8.7%, one easy way HR pros can help veterans with their mental health, is to hire them.

Vice president of strategic business development for Monster Government Solutions, Susan Fallon, explains that Military veterans have a wide range of skills they bring to the table, that their civilian counterparts may not possess. Being adaptable, able to work well in groups, handling and performing under pressure, leadership, and being goal-oriented, are all traits that veterans have, according to Fallon.

“This isn’t about patriotic duty, this isn’t about doing something good.” she said

“This is strong business practices.”

Concerns about returning vets mental health affecting their work performance, or worse, the safety of your workplace, are in large part unfounded. These concerns about PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) triggered violence, actually seem to be the result of unfair media hype. As blogger for the At War Blog on the NY Times website, Mike Haynie, pointed out in his post “As Attitudes on PTSD Shift, Media Slow to Remove the Stigma” returing veterans are actually less likely to commit homicide than civilians. 16, out of every 100,000 returning veterans committed a homicide in 2008, versus 25-28 per 100,000 civilians. The last thing we need to be doing to our returning warriors is sticking them with false stigmas.
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Soldier's family sues defense contractor

Family of slain US soldier sues Canadian military contractor for 2011 shooting in Afghanistan
By Associated Press
Updated: Tuesday, July 10, 3:58 PM

LOS ANGELES — The family of a California soldier killed in Afghanistan sued a Canadian military contractor for rehiring a security guard, an Afghan national, after he allegedly threatened to attack U.S. troops and eventually ended up killing two service members and wounding four others.

The federal wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday claims Tundra Strategies failed to document threats made by Shir Ahmed and didn’t report to U.S. military officials the danger he posed before the March 2011 attack at Forward Operating Base Frontenac.
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Soldier from St. Augustine found dead at Fort Hood

St. Augustine soldier's death at Fort Hood under investigation
Posted: July 9, 2012
From staff reports

A soldier from St. Augustine was found dead in his house at Fort Hood on Monday.

The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation, according to a report from Fort Hood.

Pfc. Joshua J. Holley, 26, entered service in February 2010 as an infantryman, the report said.

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UPDATE

Either one of these reporters got the story wrong or there were two deaths at Fort Hood.

Killeen: Fort Hood Releases Name Of Soldier Found Dead At His Home

KILLEEN (July 10, 2012)--Fort Hood officials have released the name of a staff sergeant who was found unresponsive at his home in Killeen on Thursday.

Staff Sergeant Queston Lynn Newell, 35, whose home of record is listed as Killeen, entered active duty service in August 1996 as a mechanized infantryman and served more recently as an air and missile defense crewmember, Fort Hood officials said.

He was assigned to Company D, Warrior Transition Brigade, Fort Hood, since March 2011.
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Veteran of 4 armed services dies on Fourth of July

Veteran of 4 armed services dies on Fourth of July
By KVAL News
Published Jul 9, 2012

FLORENCE, Ore. - Ron Mossholder, a veteran of four different armed services, died on the Fourth of July from lung cancer.

He would have turned 85 on July 14.

Services for Mossholder are planned Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. at the Three Rivers Casino.

Tom Adams from KVAL News interviewed Mossholder in May after a caregiver discovered Mossholder's interesting past.

Mossholder was honorably discharged from the Navy, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard and Army; once sparred with Muhammed Ali; and helped manage the cleanup after the Exxon Valez oil spill.
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Firefighter may lose job for serving in Iraq and having PTSD

A veteran fights to keep his job
Chief looks to terminate firefighter being treated for PTSD for not working
By Brendan J. Lyons
July 9, 2012

Jeffrey Wright sits on the porch of his home Friday, July 6, 2012 in Troy, N.Y. Wright is a war veteran diagnosed with PTSD and is a married father of four. The City of Troy Fire Department is seeking to fire him due to fire chief's decision not to allow him to work. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

TROY — The Troy fire chief is trying to fire a firefighter who is undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder related to his military service in the Iraq war.

Jeffrey Wright, 36, had once served as grand marshal of a city parade.

He was an Army Reserve staff sergeant who became a city firefighter in 2007, about two years after he returned from Iraq. He was notified in writing last December by Chief Thomas O. Garrett that he is being targeted for termination. Wright said he has not worked since February 2010 and has been undergoing treatment for PTSD since 2009 related to his combat service.

"The city of Troy's records reflect that you have been continuously absent from the Troy Fire Department and unable to perform the duties of firefighter for more than one year by reason of a disability other than a disability resulting from an occupational injury or disease," Garrett wrote in the letter to Wright. "As permitted by Section 73 of the NYS Civil Service Law, it is the city's intention to terminate your employment ..."
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Florida Marine doing 1 million pushups to help PTSD wounded veterans

Florida Marine doing 1 million pushups to help wounded veterans
By NBCMiami.com and msnbc.com staff

Florida Marine Sgt. Enrique Trevino is more than halfway to his goal of completing one million push-ups to raise money and awareness for wounded veterans.

"In the very beginning, there were a lot of people who said your body can't handle it," Trevino told NBCMiami.com. "That's their first mistake was telling a Marine you can't do something."

Trevino began his one million push-up pursuit as a New Year's fitness resolution, but soon realized he could turn it into an opportunity to help the Wounded Warriors Project. The organization helps veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where Trevino himself has served, get reacquainted into post-military life.

He said not all vets return with wounds that one can easily see.

"People who are suffering from PTSD. Those are scars that are not seen, but people don't notice everyday," Trevino pointed out. "I'm just trying to bring awareness to those veterans who're transitioning into civilian life, and just make sure they're never forgotten."
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We Remember

We Remember
Too many news producers say there is just not enough interest in our veterans. I think this video proves that is just what they think and not what they know.

I received a link to "We Remember" and smiled when I saw the number of views it has received. It is not an MTV video. Not a rap video. There is not glitzy concert with a "headliner" screaming instead of singing. It is a song about remembering our veterans and how most of the people in this country feel about them.

While news producers want to think that murder, sex and politics along with other crimes should be all they report on, the rest of the country hungers for something good and honorable to be reported on.

When a veteran commits a crime and has PTSD, the headline makes sure to mention that it is about a veteran. Why is that? Is it because they are only 8% of the population? Why is it they need to make sure everyone sees that word?

When it was reported that "Data from the Department of Justice indicates that the homicide offender rate in the civilian population during that same period varied between 25 and 28 homicides per 100,000 young American males – implying that veterans might actually be less likely than their non-veteran, age-group peers to commit a violent homicide." Did we get to read that in every single newspaper and online news in the country? Did we ever get the news that when it comes to veterans with PTSD they were more likely to kill themselves than harm anyone else?

I actually had a site rep dealing with veterans in legal trouble stunned by this report.

We have about 24 million veterans in this country yet compared to how many end up in trouble, it always seems to be such a huge problem but no one is pointing out that we are not seeing millions of reports about veterans getting into trouble. As a matter of fact, while the reports have been coming out more with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home, the crime reports are lower than reports of them taking their own lives.

If your local news is not covering veterans, (we know the big boys on cable news won't) you may want to mention how many views We Remember received in just over 6 months.

1,438,473

So yes America does care about our veterans and yes, we do remember.

Uploaded by ICASHQ on Dec 13, 2011 Country music recording artist Dwayne O'Brien performed his song "We Remember" (available on the CD "Song Pilot" at www.flightsongrecords.mybigcommerce.com) at the annual convention of the International Council of Air Shows last December in Las Vegas, Nevada. And he produced this video to be projected on the screens behind him while he sang. We hope that you'll share this link widely with friends and family who appreciate America's aviation legacy and all that our country's airborne warriors have done to defend our country. Many thanks to Dwayne O'Brien for both performing his wonderful song and producing this moving video.

This video was sent to be in an email link. A lot of what you see posted here comes from emails. If you find a video or news story that you think needs attention, just send me the link.

Soldier's text to Mom "I just can't take living anymore"

Fort Bragg soldier's story shows why preventing military suicides is a 'frustrating challenge'
By GREG BARNES
The Fayetteville Observer
Published: July 9, 2012

Fayetteville, N.C.— At 3:37 a.m. on May 19, Fort Bragg Pvt. Eric Watson sent a text message to his mother:

"I love you mom. I just can't take living anymore and I'm so sorry. I will always be with you."

The message set off a flurry of texts between Watson and his mother, Angela Moore, who said she tried to keep her son on the phone until she could get someone to check on him.

Watson, who Moore said had tried to overdose on pills and alcohol, was found in time.

Watson's story provides insight into how far the military has come in helping mentally ill soldiers, even as too many continue to slip through cracks in the system.

At the same time, the fact that Watson ended up in the Cumberland County Detention Center three days after his suicide attempt -- where jailers weren't even told to put him on suicide watch -- raises questions about Fort Bragg's handling of his problems.

Military suicides are soaring.

According to an Associated Press analysis, from the first of the year to June 3, suicides among active-duty U.S. military service members averaged nearly one per day.

The 154 suicides represent the highest rate since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began a decade ago and an 18 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.
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New airport security procedures available for wounded warriors

New airport security procedures available for wounded warriors
By JOHN GILLIE
The News Tribune
Tacoma, Wash.
Published: July 9, 2012

The Transportation Security Administration is making a new program available for wounded and injured veterans that’s designed to make their passage through airport security screening easier and more dignified.

The program, called the Wounded Warrior-Military Severely Injured Joint Support Operations Center Program, is available around the clock at the nation’s airports, said TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.

In order to take advantage of the program, wounded active duty military members or veterans or their representative should notify the operations center before their flights with the details of their itineraries.
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Three Star General under fire for "command climate of fear and low morale"

Missile Agency Head Faulted For Leadership Cited Morale
By Tony Capaccio
Bloomberg News
Jul 9, 2012

The three-star general who heads the U.S. Missile Defense Agency told a House defense panel that his agency’s morale was “significantly higher” than average even as the Pentagon’s inspector general found he had created an “unhealthy command climate” by yelling at subordinates.

The inspector general recommended that Army Secretary John McHugh consider taking “appropriate corrective action” against agency director Lieutenant General Patrick O’Reilly, because he “engaged in a leadership style that was inconsistent” with military ethics regulations, according to a report by the watchdog office dated May 2 and released last week.

“Witnesses testified that O’Reilly’s leadership style resulted in a command climate of fear and low morale,” the inspector general found.

Reilly portrayed a different atmosphere under his leadership in agency charts sent to the House Armed Services strategic forces panel on May 30. The agency had “significantly higher satisfaction scores than the rest of federal government in training, salary, ethical conduct and diversity,” according to the summary of an employee survey sponsored last year by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
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Fort Bliss soldiers shot in Afghanistan, one hit 12 times

Five Fort Bliss soldiers shot in Afghanistan; one shot 12 times
By Jesse Martinez
Fort Bliss, WGHP
Thursday, July 5, 2012

KABUL — Five Fort Bliss soldiers from the 3rd Brigade 1st Armor Division were injured after a man in an Afghan army uniform opened fire outside a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan, according to Fort Bliss officials and The Associated Press.

The Associated Press reported that the U.S.-led coalition confirmed in a statement that a number of its service members were shot and wounded by a man in an Afghan army uniform Tuesday in Wardak province's Sayed Abad district. Wardak, which is located close to Kabul, is considered a Taliban hotbed and has been the scene of heavy fighting over the past year, the AP reported.

Fort Bliss officials said they soldiers are being treated and in stable condition. Although, they have not released the identities of the soldiers, FOX affiliate WGHP in Greensboro, N.C. reported Pfc. Jeremy Young of Archdale, N.C. was shot 12 times.
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Texas A and M students take stand against Westboro hate group

Texas A and M Students Form Human Wall To Block Westboro Baptist Church Protestors From Soldier Roy Tisdale's Funeral (PHOTOS)

Posted: 07/06/2012

Hundreds of Texas A and M students gathered this week to form a human wall around the funeral service of a soldier to protect his family from Westboro Baptist Church protesters,
KBTX.com reports

Texas A and M alum Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale died on June 28 during a training exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C. Tisdale was killed by another soldier who then fatally shot himself.

Tisdale had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the days after the soldier's death, word spread that Westboro Baptist Church members were planning to protest Tisdale's funeral.

Described as a "homophobic and anti-Semitic hate group" by the Anti-Defamation League, Westboro Baptist Church regularly stages protests around the country.

According to KBTX.com, the group, which is based in Kansas, frequently targets military funerals because of "a belief that God punishes soldiers because of America's tolerance of gays."
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UK military "Don't Bottle It Up" campaign to address Combat PTSD

Terrible legacy of a decade of war: 500 troops a month seek mental help as endless fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq takes its toll

New study reveals impact of conflicts on UK's hard-pressed Armed Forces
1,472 new cases of troops needing treatment in first three months of 2012
Female personnel twice as likely to suffer ill-health than male counterparts
First figures compiled since launch of MoD's 'Don't Bottle It Up' campaign

By MARK NICOL
9 July 2012

Taking its toll: Earlier this year, Lance Sergeant Dan Collins (right) committed suicide over the guilt of surviving an incident in Afghanistan that killed two comrades, including Lance Corporal Dane Elson (left)

Nearly 500 military personnel a month are asking to be treated for traumatic disorders after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The impact of a decade of conflict on Britain’s hard-pressed Armed Forces is revealed in new Ministry of Defence figures.

A study of the 1,472 new cases of Servicemen and women seeking help in the first three months of the year shows some clear trends. Female personnel are twice as likely to suffer mental ill-health, and lower ranks are more vulnerable than officers.
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Never too late to heal hidden war wounds

Pee Dee area Vietnam veterans seek treatment for PTSD 40 years later
Never too late to heal hidden war wounds
By: ELLEN MEDER
SCNow
Published: July 07, 2012

It has been 42 years since retired Army 1st Sgt. Cecil Stack completed two tours of duty in Vietnam. He now lives a laid-back life with his wife, Toni, in Lake City. Most days are filled with fishing and church, but from time to time certain memories weigh on his mind.

One particular story centers around a young GI from Texas whose helicopter that went into a hot LZ (a landing zone surrounded by Vietcong shooting at American troops) took a lot of rounds and flipped over.

The young man, a good friend whose last name was Williams, had half of his body caught under the burning aircraft and while Cecil and fellow soldiers worked to get him out he asked them to just shoot him and then the helicopter exploded.

“I just remember that in particular, real close, and it bothered me a long time,” Cecil says quietly. It’s a story he first recounted only two years ago.

But overall he doesn’t talk about his time deployed. In fact his family said he’s not a very talkative person at all.

Now, at 77, he’s beginning to learn how to talk about his feelings, memories and how they’ve affected him and his family.
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Courts likely to see more vets with PTSD

Courts likely to see more vets with PTSD
July 9, 2012
By Gina Passarella
The Legal Intelligencer

When the state Supreme Court denied earlier this year an Iraq War veteran's plea to allow an insanity defense in his Altoona murder trial, Justice Seamus P. McCaffery promised a dissenting statement would follow.

He delivered late last month, with a commentary on how the court should recognize a likely increase in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, coming through the courts, while acknowledging that it's unusual for the court to be asked to weigh in on the appropriateness and legality of a "particular defense to capital murder charges."

"There is ample reason to anticipate that when members of our armed forces return from combat duty and are charged with the commission of criminal offenses, there will be an increased incidence of an accused's seeking to present an insanity defense based upon mental infirmities related to his or her military service," Justice McCaffery said in his five-page dissent in Commonwealth v. Horner.

Justice McCaffery added that there is a growing number of people returning from military service who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses that are a direct result of their military service, and who commit crimes directly attributable to the "deleterious effects of combat service."
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Iraq War vet Jason Moon heals with music

Vet uses music to heal -- but says he's no 'hero'
MARTHA IRVINE
AP National Writer
Monday, July 9, 2012

GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) — Don't call Iraq War vet Jason Moon a hero. Don't phone him on Memorial Day or July 4th or Veterans Day to say thank you.

Instead, just listen as he strums his guitar and sings about the "things I've seen I won't forget," about the sacrifices, emotional and physical, that a warrior must bear.

It can get raw, as it did one evening in a backyard in suburban Los Angeles, a recent stop on a concert tour that has taken him all over the country.

"All this welcome home, good job, we're-so-proud-of-you bull---- is wearing thin," he said, half-singing, half-speaking, as firelight flickered on his audience's faces.

There was a brief pause, then laughter — a moment of understanding shared veteran to veteran.

To some of us, words like those — and a rejection of hero status — might sound ungrateful, even disrespectful. We live, after all, in an era when "supporting the troops" has practically become a requirement to prove one's patriotism. We put yellow ribbons on trees and magnets and stickers on our cars, or at least we used to. We talk about heroes and bravery.

Americans haven't always embraced their war veterans, so we've been determined to get it right this time.

There is, however, a sense among many of today's vets, and those who deal with them, that we often haven't done so, despite the best intentions.

"When I was in Vietnam, nobody welcomed anybody home — or they spit on you, or worse. Now everybody has a parade, or welcomes you. But it loses the impact," says Larry Ashley, a Vietnam veteran who's now a professor specializing in combat trauma at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

"It's like a pendulum. It's like we're overcompensating for a guilty conscience."
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Oviedo soldier dies in Afghanistan

UPDATE Jacksonville-based soldier who died in Afghanistan leaves wife, 2 children
Updated: July 10, 2012

Oviedo soldier dies in Afghanistan
July 8, 2012
By Leslie Postal and David Breen
Orlando Sentinel

A U.S. Army captain from Oviedo died in Afghanistan on Friday about three months after his Army Reserve unit was mobilized.

Bruce A. MacFarlane, 46, died in Kandahar, according to the Department of Defense, which did not provide information on how he died.

He was assigned to the 1186th Transportation Company, 831st Transportation Battalion, which is based in Jacksonville.

"He was a great guy, good family guy," said Keith Marang, who lives next door and said he met MacFarlane when both families moved into their new homes in 2008. "I was just floored when I heard the news."

He said MacFarlane, befitting his military career, was clean-cut and fit and looked younger than his age. He and his wife have two children, a son and a daughter, Marang said, adding that he thought they were in their early teens. He said the family moved to Oviedo from DeLand.

A person who answered the door at the family's large, modern home Sunday afternoon said they were not available, and she was not authorized to release any information. She said she was a friend of the family, and they'd been devastated by the news.

MacFarlane, who spent 12 years on active duty, was very patriotic, with an American flag always flying from his home, his neighbor said. Several small flags and red, white and blue pinwheels decorated the flower pots at the front door Sunday, presumably from the Fourth of July holiday last week.
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Hope Is No Longer A Viable Strategy against Military Suicides

Yesterday I receive a phone call about a group trying to make a difference in the lives of our veterans and their families. I know. So many groups saying they are trying to do the same thing but not accomplishing much at all. I listened and promised I'd take a look at the site but was ready to be disappointed yet again. It seems as if today is my day to once again say I was wrong. Happily, this group seems to really have their act together.

Veterans and Families.org has a petition at National Petition to help save the lives of the men and women coming home. After all, isn't that why you're here and read this blog?


The thing that really gave me hope is that over on the sidebar the links are great but down toward the bottom are links to the books someone I know wrote. The books are by Jonathan Shay.


"You need to get treated if you're going to get treated at all. If it lasts more than 4 months, there's a good chance it's going to last a lifetime." is what Dr. Sanjay Gupta said at about 9 minutes into this video. It is something that needs to be shouted from the top of every town hall.


That is the point that needs attention from everyone. Experts have warned that after a traumatic event there is a 30 day window. If the shock has not worn off within 30 days or subsided, the survivor needs to receive treatment from a mental health professional. Now Dr. Gupta stress how serious all of this is with what he said about 4 months.

What the men and women face is more months of deployment after their traumatic event, followed by the euphoria of coming back home, expecting to "get over all of it" and doing nothing about any of it other than wait it out.

Most of the time these combat veterans end up being sent back right around the time they figure out they are not "getting over it" and may need some help, but they have a job to do, so they put their healing on hold, face more trauma in combat, piled on top of what they already survived. Yet we wonder why the numbers are so high so fast?

One of the reasons we know what we know is how long combat and PTSD has been studied, which is not 10 years, 20 years or even 30 years, but 40 years worth of research. Experts know enough to tell Vietnam veterans that is it not too late for them to get help to heal even if they cannot be cured because they can live a better life than they would have just trying to suck it up. They also warn these veterans that as they age and face retirement, untreated PTSD will get a lot worse for them. They have nothing to occupy their minds with in order to push the symptoms into the back of their minds.

There is hope for them even after 40 years just as there is hope for today's veterans to be helped to heal. We don't have to keep reading about their suffering, suicides, attempted suicides and families grieving if we all get involved and stop taking excuses for answers.

Go to the site with the above link, take a look at what they're doing and get involved.

Hope Is No Longer A Viable Strategy

UPDATE
First early intervention has already been proven a long time ago. Early research is the reason we've had crisis intervention teams showing up after disasters and mass murder. It is the reason they were ready to get to work right after the Twin Towers fell in New York. Why this article says "for the first time" is beyond me but it is a good article at least where it points out the need to have someone respond to people right after a traumatic event. Can you experience more traumatic events that the troops do in combat?

Speedy intervention may stop PTSD before it begins
By Kathi Baker
Woodruff Health Sciences Center
July 9, 2012

For the first time, a behavioral intervention delivered to patients within hours of a traumatic event appears to be effective at reducing posttraumatic stress reactions (PTSR).

A study published online in the June, 2012, journal Biological Psychiatry, and conducted by Barbara Rothbaum, and her team, shows that a modified form of prolonged exposure therapy initiated within hours of a trauma reduces posttraumatic stress reactions and depression. Exposure therapy is a type of behavioral therapy in which a survivor confronts anxiety about a traumatic event by reliving it.

"PTSD is a major public health concern," says Rothbaum, professor in the Emory's —Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. "In so many people, what happens immediately after a traumatic event can make things worse or better. Right now, there are no accepted interventions delivered in the immediate aftermath of trauma."

The implications of this study are immense, she explains. "If we know what to do, then we can train emergency workers to intervene with patients on a large scale. In addition to being implemented in the emergency room, it can help on the battlefield, in natural disasters, or after criminal assaults."
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Vietnam veterans serve as lesson to mental health officials

Vietnam veterans serve as lesson to mental health officials
When veterans of the Vietnam War returned home, not many were prepared for the psychological issues that some of these returning veterans faced. Some ended up self medicating with alcohol and drugs, which led them down a path to prison.
By Jaclyn Cosgrove
Published: July 8, 2012

Roy Bowman will never forget what happened in the jungles of Vietnam.

Conversely, he likely won't ever remember what happened the night he got in a bar fight in Lawton, and a man he was fighting ended up dead.

Bowman has been in prison for 36 years for a second-degree murder conviction.

Before he was arrested, Bowman was drinking excessively, trying to fight off the mental health issues he faced after the Vietnam War.

“This may sound crazy, but I do thank God that I was incarcerated because it gave me a chance to seek help and get help,” Bowman said.

Veterans represent about 10 percent of the population in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections prison facilities. An estimated 1,500 veterans are incarcerated in correctional centers in Oklahoma, according to DOC data.

About 3,000 Oklahoma National Guard soldiers returned from Afghanistan earlier this year.

State military leaders and mental health professionals have implemented programs in Oklahoma in an effort to keep service members out of the state's correctional facilities.
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Tate publishing head prays with, insults then fires employees

OFF TOPIC

I was reading about incarcerated veterans (post coming up) when I saw this and had to read all of it. WOW!

We keep hearing about the unemployment numbers being high but no one is talking about how the tax breaks the "job creators" got gave them more incentive to keep their money instead of investing it back into their business and hiring more people. Sure it is easy to pick the fact that public employees from around the country lost their jobs because some folks would rather see their governments fail than succeed but this one really tops everything else I've read about what some greedy employers do to their employees. Outsourcing wasn't enough for this guy.

Oklahoma CEO prays with, insults, then fires employees
A Mustang publishing company CEO fired 25 employees this week after announcing the dismissals in an emotional staff meeting that was recorded.

By Don Mecoy
Published: June 1, 2012

“We let 25 go yesterday — hated it,” said Ryan Tate, head of Tate Publishing.

During the staff meeting, which was recorded, Tate sprinkled biblical references with the stern announcement.

Tate, who opened the meeting with a prayer, said he had been too tolerant of workers who posted their opinions and suggestions about the company online or in anonymous emails. “I should have just fired you on the spot.”

He said an email that claimed the company was planning to outsource local jobs to the company's new operation in the Philippines prompted the firings. And, Tate said, that email was incorrect.

“You morons that sat back and wanted to create and generate conspiracy theories on the ‘what-ifs' or the potentials of what could be happening are stupid,” he told the employees.
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When they gave their best to us

When they gave their best to us
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
July 8, 2012

I had no intentions of writing a post like this this morning but as I was going through my emails there was a notice of a comment left on my post Why did we let Trevor Gould die? One more reminder of how much has been known about Combat PTSD and suicide. One more reminder of how ordinary citizens with courage and compassion, the very qualities the military looks for so they will be willing to die for each other, are the very things that can kill them after war if they are not helped to recover from where they've been and what they were asked to do. Or the fact they will never again be "an ordinary" citizen but will live the rest of their lives as a Combat Veteran.

Whenever I hear from a family member after a veteran has committed suicide, I grieve more because I am reminded again of how much I have failed since I started working online tracking these reports. On this blog alone there are over 15,000 posts, so I do not doubt what I know but I doubt my ability to do anything with what I know. I can't get anyone to listen. I don't have a PR firm or people behind me with deep pockets, so I do the best I can and try to find excuses to not give up.

I know should be happy about the lives I've managed to save and families kept together because of all of this but it is the ones I lost or never reached that stick in my mind the most.

In less than a week I managed to give up on a veteran that called me on accident. I couldn't take his attitude, his drinking any more than I could take the way he treated people he turned to for help. It wasn't just me. He did it to his Mom, his Grandmother, other relatives and in less than a week he was kicked out of two homes. Everyone gave up on him and I think it is because he gave up on himself first.

He served in Bosnia among other places but it was the Bosnia deployment that "messed" him up the most. None of it made sense to him. Judging by how few reports there are about veterans of Bosnia and Somalia, they don't seem to matter anymore than the veterans do. Even though they gave their best to this country while serving so far away and forgotten, pushed away as much as they pull away, we find excuses to forget.

We just celebrated our Independence but between cookouts, fireworks and beach time there wasn't much reflection of who is responsible for this nation being free. Even less reflection of the fact that while we sing a bunch of songs, we never really think of the lyrics or the price paid by those who fought for all of this. We don't think about the only rewards they ask for. They aren't medals or parades or monuments, even tough those things are appreciated by them. What they want most in return for their service is knowing the wounded are taken care of and their families have all they need to take care of them. That never happens. We have too much of a history in this country of failing them.


In January of 2011, news broke that Fort Hood sees twofold increase in suicides from prior year I wrote a post saying that it did little good to have been right back in 2009 when I warned it would happen and posted the link to the old post.

By 2010, I knew I was right but it didn't do any good for soldiers like Sgt. Douglas Hale Jr.

22 suicides in 2010 at Fort Hood
One was Army Sgt. Douglas Hale Jr., who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after completing his second tour in 2007. He texted his mother, Glenda Moss, on July 6 asking forgiveness before shooting himself to death in a restaurant bathroom near Fort Hood.

News came out on December 24, 2010 that McCain calls suicide prevention "overreach" and blocks bill it did not leave me with much hope that this country would ever get it right.

I knew it was going to get worse because of this among many other reports I read.

Army's "Spiritual Fitness" Test Comes Under Fire Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) is a $125 million "holistic fitness program" unveiled in late 2009 and aimed at reducing the number of suicides and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cases, which have reached epidemic proportions over the past year due to multiple deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the substandard care soldiers have received when they return from combat. The Army states that it can accomplish its goal by teaching its service members how to be psychologically resilient and resist "catastrophizing" traumatic events. Defense Department documents obtained by Truthout state CSF is Army Chief of Staff George Casey's "third highest priority."

"Military suicides show some families work through their grief, while others are left feeling angry and confused." was also reported in January of 2011. But this is something that doesn't get talked about enough.

We were also reading things like this.

Concerns Raised About Combat Troops Using Psychotropic Drugs
FOX News
Jan 19, 2011

As U.S. military leaders gathered Wednesday to give their latest update on the rash of Army suicides, new questions are being raised about a U.S. Central Command policy that allows troops to go to Iraq and Afghanistan with up to a six-month supply of psychotropic drugs.

Prescription drugs have already been linked to some military suicides, and a top Army official warned last year about the danger of soldiers abusing that medication. Psychiatrists are now coming down hard on the military for continuing to sanction certain psychotropic drugs for combat troops, saying the risk from side effects is too great.

“There’s no way on earth that these boys and girls are getting monitored on the field,” said Dr. Peter Breggin, a New York-based psychiatrist who has extensively studied the side effects of psychiatric drugs. “The drugs simply shouldn’t be given to soldiers.”

Anxiety, violent behavior and “impulsivity” are all side effects of some of these medications, he said, the latter symptom being particularly dangerous in a war zone. Breggin said that if patients were given these medications in the civilian world and not monitored, it would amount to “malpractice.”

But we still see the numbers go up a year and a half later. People can pretend to be shocked by all of this. Military brass can say anything they want about what they are doing and promise to do more but when they are doing the same thing, it is just more of the same leading to more of the same results,,,,,deplorable. Politicians can keep saying they care but the truth comes out sooner or later when it is all getting worse,,,disgusting. And Moms will keep having to go visit their sons and daughter's graves instead of them.

Hello I am Sheri Johnson Trevor Gould's mother. A person does not know how hard they can ache until they lose a child. It hurts even more knowing my son did not get the help he need when he asked for it. He always acted strong around me because he was trained that way and thought he was my protector. We need to help our soldiers that come home and even the ones that are deployed. They need to be heard we need to be heard. I would give anything to hold my son one more time and tell him how much I love him, but I can't do this anymore and I want to change things so other parents and spouses can hold their loved ones every day.

In the following video I made back in 2009, there was a song that haunted me from Ken Burns The War sung beautifully by Norah Jones.

“American Anthem” words and music by Gene Scheer

All that we’ve been given by those who came before,
The dream of a nation where freedom would endure.
The work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day.
What shall be our legacy, what will our children say?
Let them say of me, I was one who believed in sharing the blessings I received.
Let me know in my heart when my days are through,
America, America, I gave my best to you.
America, America, I gave my best to you.


Each generation from the plains to distant shores,
With the gifts they were given were determined to leave more.
Battles fought together, acts of conscience fought alone,
These are the seeds from which America has grown.
Let them say of me I was one who believed
In sharing the blessings I received.
Let me know in my heart when my days are through,
America, America, I gave my best to you.
America, America, I gave my best to you.


For those who say they have nothing to share,
Who feel in their hearts there is no hero there,
Though each quiet act of dignity is that which fortifies,
The soul of a nation, that will never die.
Let them say of me that I was one who believed
In sharing the blessings I received.
Let me know in my heart when my days are through,
America, America, I gave my best to you.
America, America, I gave my best to you.

I point out often that it took Vietnam Veterans coming home and fighting for Combat PTSD to be treated and they did in fact give their best to America because they never gave up on us. If they had, there would be nothing for the veterans that came later back from where we sent them. The documentary The War was about WWII but when you read the lyrics from this song, I am sure you noticed that it does not just apply to that time in our history but to all times when ordinary citizens went where few others have been, yet have no regrets about their service no matte what happened to them afterwards. They gave their best to us, so why haven't we given our best to them?

Veterans’ experiences change the way they look at life

Help available for area veterans
By YESSENIA FUNES, Contributing Writer
Press-Republican
July 8, 2012

PLATTSBURGH — After serving in the military for 18 years, Steven Bowman can speak firsthand about the difficulties veterans face when reintegrating into their communities after war.

“When you think about young men and women serving today, they’re a different person when they come back,” said Bowman, who is director of the Clinton County Veterans Service Agency.

Veterans’ experiences change the way they look at life.

Bowman joined the military two weeks after high school, when he was only 17 years old. It was something he had always wanted to do.

“I grew up in a farm,” he said. “I went back about eight years ago and met with old classmates. The only similarity is where we graduated from.”

The life experiences that veterans face are not necessarily negative. In this case, Bowman said, his classmates had a smaller world view than him. They had never left their small town in Iowa.

He, on the other hand, had traveled to multiple countries because of the military. He had been to Japan, Korea, Honduras — and all of this time, without his family.

“We try to tell families that the individual they send away on a bus will not be the same individual coming back,” Bowman said.
read more here

New VFW state commander hopes to bring young veterans into the fold

New VFW state commander hopes to bring young veterans into the fold
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Saturday, July 7, 2012

The recently installed Veterans of Foreign Wars state commander, himself a disabled veteran, hopes to bridge the "generation gap" from Vietnam War era veterans to those from current conflicts.

Wayne Carrignan, 64, who lives in Chiefland with his wife, Susan, was sworn in June 17 in Orlando for a one-year term as leader of the 73,403 VFW members at 191 posts statewide. Marion County has eight posts, with 3,023 members. The VFW Department of Florida Headquarters is located in Ocala.

"The young veterans are our biggest concern," Carrignan said. "They have job and family obligations, and we can help with their needs and benefits."

The new leader of the group, which was established 113 years ago by veterans of the Spanish-American War, knows what it means to be a disabled veteran. At age 18, on Jan. 20, 1966, Carrignan stepped on a land mine left over from the Korean War while serving in the U.S. Army in the Korean DMZ. He lost his right foot and spent about six months in a military hospital near Valley Forge. He is considered "100 percent total and permanent" status by the Veterans Administration in terms of disability.
read more here

Goodwill program helps Marine veteran rise from homelessness

Goodwill program helps Savannah Marine veteran rise from homelessness
Posted: July 8, 2012
By Corey Dickstein
Things kept getting worse for Royce Brown.

The plumbing job he’d held for more than 15 years had slowly become less steady. By the time the company he was working for went defunct toward the end of 2010, the then-45-year-old couldn’t afford to pay his rent.

He lost his home. Within a month he’d lost everything.

Brown placed blame on anything he could.

“I blamed the economy, I blamed the president, I blamed from top to bottom, you know,” he said. “I blamed everything. What can you do? What can you do? There’s no more work out there. No work. Nobody needs a plumber.”

For more than a year, the U.S. Marine Corps veteran lived on the streets. He slept on friends’ couches when he could; other nights he just walked. Often he meandered from one side of Savannah to the other just to kill time. Just to stay alive.
read more here

Stories of Medal Of Honor Heroes

The Medal Synopsis
This television special and DVD documentary explores our nation’s recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Of the over 40 million men and women who have served in our nation’s Armed Forces, there stands above all a group of but 3,442 individuals – our nation’s recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

They came from every corner of our nation, and together they represent every race and creed that has formed our rich and diverse culture. More than half died in the action that resulted in their receiving the Medal.

Of those who survived, some became household names and went on to fame and fortune. But most went quietly home to the towns and cities they loved across America. Still others lived out their remaining life in poverty and obscurity, forgotten by the nation for which they sacrificed so much.
read more here

The Medal

Double Medal of Honor Heroes
Click this link to read their stories!
BALDWIN, FRANK D. First Lieutenant U.S. Army Indian War Campaigns
BUTLER, SMEDLEY DARLINGTON Major U.S. Marine Corps Haiti 1915
COOPER, JOHN Coxswain U.S. Navy Civil War
CUKELA, LOUIS Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps World War I
CUSTER, THOMAS W.Second Lieutenant U.S. Army Civil War
DALY, DANIEL JOSEPHGunnery Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps Haiti 1915
HOFFMAN, CHARLES F. (AKA ERNEST JANSON) Gunnery Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps World War I
HOGAN, HENRY First Sergeant U.S. Army Indian War Campaigns
KELLY, JOHN JOSEPH Private U.S. Marine Corps World War I
KING, JOHN Watertender U.S. Navy Interim 1901-1911
KOCAK, MATEJ Sergeant U.S. Marine Corps World War I
LAFFERTY, JOHN Fireman U.S. Navy Civil War
McCLOY, JOHN Coxswain U.S. Navy Boxer Rebellion
MULLEN, PATRICK Boatswain's Mate U.S. Navy Civil War
PRUITT, JOHN HENRY Corporal U.S. Marine Corps World War I
SWEENEY, ROBERT Ordinary Seaman U.S. Navy Interim 1871-1898
WEISBOGEL, ALBERT Captain of the Mizzen Top U.S. Navy Interim 1871-1898
WILLIAMS, LOUIS Captain of the Hold U.S. Navy Interim 1871-1898

Among the Medal of Honor Heroes are stories you never hear. One of them is Sammy Davis. I interviewed him at the Orlando Nam Knights Homes for Our Troops fundraiser. Sammy did what he did to earn the Medal of Honor, was beaten up at the airport back home, but Sammy loved this country so much that instead of just going back home to live a quiet life, he served more years as a member of the National Guards.

Here's Sammy's story.

Iraq Veteran Marine homeless in St. Augustine with Combat PTSD

Last night there wasn't much on TV so we did a pay-per view Big Miracle about whales facing death, trapped beneath the ice in Alaska. A reporter told the story on local news, people knew about the problem, cared enough to try and do something about it. As a filler for national news, the entire country knew about these whales and the people trying help them survive. Then the world knew. They took action to save them.

No one blamed them for ending up the way they did or settled for just letting them die there. No one complained about how much money it would take to save three whales or how much it cost to travel there to tell the story. Sure, greed got involved when some thought it would be great public relations to get involved but in the end, even the greedy CEO managed to care more about the whales than himself.

Wouldn't it be really a big miracle if the same thing happened for our veterans trapped beneath a frozen society allowing them to suffer? How is it people moved heaven and earth to save three whales but we don't do much when veterans end up homeless?

Former Marine on the streets, frustrated with delays in getting help
11:09 PM, Jul 6, 2012
Written by
Mike Lyons

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Former Marine Sgt. Mark Reynolds is a homeless veteran who can often be seen walking through St. Augustine, frustrated his pleas for help are going unanswered.

"I don't like living like this," said 33-year old Reynolds.

Reynolds served in Iraq 14 months and was involved in the seize of Fallujah in 2004 during one of the major battles of the Iraqi war. Now he roams the streets of St. Augustine, dealing with the problems of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

"I have some nightmares here and there, sometimes the clarity of thought isn't quite where it should be. I am startled easily, there are a lot of things that are a little bit strange. It's difficult for me to enjoy life the way I used to be able to enjoy life. I don't like crowds or loud places."

Reynolds pitches his tent wherever he can at night, whether it is on a lawn or the woods or wherever he can. He has a part-time job he loves at Home Depot, but the income is just enough for food, a cell phone, and a storage unit for a few belongings, not enough for a roof over his head.
read more here

USS Carl Vinson Sailor Prevents Suicide on Coronado Bay Bridge

USS Carl Vinson Sailor Prevents Suicide
Jul 06, 2012
Navy News
by MC2 Luke Meineke

Shortly before 4 a.m. Tuesday, June 19, 2012, USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuel) 1st Class (AW/SW) David Lawrence, Air Department’s V4 Division maintenance leading petty officer, was driving to Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) for a pre-work workout when he made a fateful decision to help a stranger.

Lawrence was driving across the Coronado Bay Bridge when he noticed the car in front of him pull over and stop near the bridge’s apex.

“I saw he was an older guy and he didn’t have his hazard [lights] on, so I didn’t want him to get hit – and he was in a black Fiat and it was dark out,” Lawrence said. “Most people going over the bridge at that time won’t be paying attention; they’re just trying to wake up.”

Lawrence said he thought he would be helping with a flat tire or offering a ride to the Highway Patrol station on the other side of the bridge when he pulled over in front of the black Fiat and turned on his hazard lights. This decision to help was reflex for Lawrence, stemming from his belief that good deeds produce good rewards.

When I volunteer at children’s hospitals or for fundraisers, I believe “somebody is returning the favors,” Lawrence said. “My health is good. My family’s health is good. [So I take] any opportunity I get to help somebody.”
read more here

One piece of information relayed to him by a police officer will stay with the Carl Vinson Sailor foreverthough. “It was his sixtieth birthday,” said Lawrence, shaking his head. He didn’t have to say it, but Lawrence knew. His compassion made it possible for one man to see 61.

Joe Walsh faces campaign backlash over comments on double-amputee rival

Rep. Walsh faces campaign backlash over comments on double-amputee rival
Published July 06, 2012
FoxNews.com

Republican Rep. Joe Walsh is facing a campaign trail backlash after he was caught on camera last weekend accusing his double-amputee opponent of talking too much about her military record.

The Illinois congressman, who is running against Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth, has defended his remarks and reiterated that he still thinks his Democratic opponent is a "hero."

But Duckworth has used the gaffe to hammer the incumbent congressman almost daily this past week, even prompting one veterans group to call for Walsh's resignation.

While Walsh says Duckworth is manufacturing outrage, that hasn't stopped the decorated Democratic candidate from turning his remarks into a centerpiece campaign issue.

Duckworth earlier this week called Walsh's comments "irresponsible" and "insulting" to servicemembers.

Atop her campaign website is an online petition seeking support over the comments.

"It's time we teach Joe Walsh a lesson about true heroism," the petition says.
read more here

also Tammy Duckworth lost legs in service to country, Rep. Joe Walsh lost his mind

Duckworth defends military talk on the campaign trail
Posted by
CNN's Ashley Killough

(CNN) – Democratic congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran and double-amputee, fired back at opponent Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois after he criticized her for talking too much about her military service.

"It's very irresponsible for Mr. Walsh, as a sitting congressman, to try to muzzle war veterans and keep them from talking about their service," Duckworth said on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."
read more here

Wounded Sailor Taylor Morris released from hospital

Injured Cedar Falls Sailor Released From Hospital
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
WASHINGTON, D.C.

A Cedar Falls sailor injured in Afghanistan has been released from the hospital.

Morris announced on his blog that he was officially released from the hospital Thursday, and has moved to an apartment at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.
read more here
also Wounded Afghanistan Vet spends July 4th at White House

Army's huge culture shift: No shame in mental health help

Army's huge culture shift: No shame in mental health help
By Gail Sheehy
Special for USA TODAY

Daniel Rodriguez joined the Army when his home life collapsed. His parents split. His father dropped from a heart attack. He was 18 and on the runty side for a high school football player, but with a dream of playing at a Division I college.

Three weeks after burying his father, the angry teen made his way to an Army recruitment center. Like so many of today's volunteers, he was looking for a new home, discipline and the directions for becoming a man.

But Iraq and Afghanistan are unique in America's wars, clouding that traditional coming-of-age road map. The invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and family breakup have soared for the military there, along with repeated redeployments and a 360-degree combat-alert range. The most glaring result is the 80% increase in suicides, averaging nearly one a day this year — the fastest pace in the nation's decade of war. This is the second year in a row that more active-duty soldiers have been lost to self-inflicted death than to combat.


These appalling statistics have given the Army a new mission — to treat those invisible wounds of war before soldiers come home with their mental composure shattered.
read more here

Will Veterans Lose if Mitt Romney Wins?

UPDATE Just to show that my fears for the VA are not unfounded.

An Insult to Veterans
Posted: 07/25/2012
Richard Klass Colonel, USAF (ret.)

He asserts that the sequester cuts would weaken the Veterans Administration and that he would not let that happen. But President Obama has already ensured that the sequester, if it comes to pass, will not affect the VA. Gov. Romney did not mention his flirtation with replacing the VA with vouchers, a move that would decimate the VA's world class hospitals and research into veteran injuries such as loss of sight or limbs, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress. He also seems to have ignored the fact that the GOP budget of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), that he supports, would cut $11 billion from next year's VA budget. And of course, he would not give the Obama Administration credit for the largest increases in the VA budget in 30 years and for the expansion of care for women, mental health services and ending the shame of veterans' homelessness.

Veterans For Common Sense has a great article taking a look at what this country would be like for veterans if Romney takes over as President. Sadly the truth is, veterans will lose if Romney wins just as they lost under other Republican presidents, especially under Bush.

It is not that Republican politicians are bad people but when you put business first, veterans are usually last on the "to do" list. Bush took advantage of the loyalty of the veterans just as McCain tried to do.

This was one of the happiest days of my life!

JULY 17, 2007
VA Chief Nicholson Resigns
By TERENCE HUNT
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 17, 2007; 12:17 PM

WASHINGTON -- Veterans Affairs chief Jim Nicholson, a onetime Republican Party chairman was forced to defend his agency's performance after revelations of shoddy health care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, announced Tuesday he is resigning.

Nicholson, who is returning to the private sector, has been head of the VA since February, 2005. Before that, he was U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and chairman of the Republican National Committee.

It wasn't just what happened at Walter Reed but most of what is adding to the suffering of our veterans since the troops were sent into Afghanistan in 2001 happened because no one planned for the wounded coming home and what they would need. No one was held accountable as veterans suffered because veterans are loyal people. The last thing they want to think is that another veteran betrayed them. It happens all the time.

Most the veterans I spend my time with are Republicans. I've written often how I wouldn't want to be around anyone else because I know them. I know how humble they are, how much they care about others, especially other veterans, and it breaks my heart when I have to tell them the truth.

I see the pain in their eyes when I have to tell them that someone they trusted betrayed them.

When McCain was running against Obama, they didn't know that McCain voted against them most of the time. He thought the GI Bill, among other bills, was "too good for them" even though this bill was not good enough, as we've seen over the last few years with problem after problem. Yet McCain, who fought tooth and nail against it along with Bush, managed to take credit for it passing.

Now they are face with Romney. A man with a career of making money for himself first and his partners second. His record on veterans has not been good when you consider who really benefited and that was businesses. I doubt he'd change as President when considering going to war and having to choose between the lives of the men and women he sends against the defense contractors he owes favors to. We saw that with Bush and paybacks of no-bid contracts.

Too many politicians on both sides have the same debt to corporate backers but veterans are the last to know where their politicians loyalty really is and they trust too much. Their loyalty really prevents using their power as veterans to hold politicians accountable for what they do as much as what they don't do.

Romney won't fix the VA. He'll destroy it so that his rich pals will finally get what they want. Turning the care of veterans and their families over to private corporations putting profits ahead of taking care of them.

Imagine calling the VA for an appointment and the voice on the other end is an outsourced employee in India instead of Indiana. You would see a hospital treating civilians and veterans together and then close down because they lost money leaving veterans with having to go without care. You'd see all the VA hospitals being controlled by corporations after taxpayer money built them, turned into luxury condos for turkey vultures because CEO's cut their losses and left.

Here's the issue in a nutshell. If Romney wins, veterans will lose but if Obama is re-elected, they have to hold him and every other politician accountable instead of just assuming any of them will be as loyal to the veterans as veterans are to the country they were willing to die for.

Will Veterans Lose if Mitt Romney Wins?
Posted on July 7, 2012
by VCS

VCS Executive Director quoted extensively

What would a Mitt Romney Administration really mean for America’s veterans?

On Tuesday, Romney named former President George H.W. Bush and former Sen. Bob Dole as honorary co-chairmen of his Veterans and Military Families for Romney. But perhaps more significantly, the group’s national co-chairs, who will advise Romney on veteran policy if he is elected, include James Nicholson, former secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) under President George W. Bush.

Some veterans advocates say Romney’s decision to tap Nicholson, who abruptly resigned from the VA in 2007 amid controversy, as well as Anthony Principi and James Peake, who also presided over the VA during George W. Bush’s two terms in the White House, could signal that Romney will embrace some of the policies of the Bush years, which were widely considered to be tough times for veterans.

“A Romney presidency would be a disaster for veterans, as evidenced by whom he’s chosen to advise him,” says Patrick Bellon, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a veterans’ advocacy organization. “I think these choices should give all Americans pause. How can voters support a candidate who is showing so clearly that he learned nothing from Bush’s failures? It would be a mistake to trust people like Nicholson who failed veterans in such epic fashion.”

Nicholson, a wealthy attorney, decorated Vietnam veteran and former chair of the Republican National Committee who served as VA Secretary from 2005 to 2007, said in a statement on Romney’s website, “Veterans have served our nation proudly for decades. They deserve not only our respect and admiration, but top quality care for the rest of their lives. Mitt Romney will work tirelessly to ensure that veterans and military families are always cared for. That is why I am proud to join him in his campaign to keep America strong and prosperous.”

But the “top quality care” to which Nicholson refers was reportedly hard to come by when he ran things. A cover story in Newsweek in March 2007 reported that the VA under Nicholson was an overloaded bureaucracy that was unprepared for the onslaught of troops returning from war and was failing America’s wounded.
read more here

Don’t Put Women in Combat, Says Female Combat Veteran

Some women think it is a good idea. Some don't. It is important to hear their voices.

Don’t Put Women in Combat, Says Female Combat Veteran
Katie J.M. Baker

Last April, the Marine Corps announced that it would begin integrating female officers into its Infantry Officer Course, a monumental step towards allowing women to serve in front-line combat that would also open up more promotions for women, some of whom have been complaining for decades that prohibiting women from the front lines hurts their chances of moving up into senior military ranks.

As one might expect, not everyone thinks this is such a fantastic idea. In the latest issue of Marine Corps Gazette, an Iraq and Afghanistan vet and "combat-experienced Marine officer" makes the case that "we are not all created equal" and that "I am confident that should the Marine Corps attempt to fully integrate women into the infantry, we as an institution are going to experience a colossal increase in crippling and career-ending medical conditions for females."
read more here

General McChrystal says "I think we ought to have a draft"

McChrystal says it's time to bring back the draft
By JOSH ROGIN
Foreign Policy
Published: July 6, 2012

WASHINGTON — Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander of international forces in Afghanistan, said this week that the United States should bring back the draft if it ever goes to war again.

"I think we ought to have a draft. I think if a nation goes to war, it shouldn't be solely be represented by a professional force, because it gets to be unrepresentative of the population," McChrystal said at a late-night event June 29 at the 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival. "I think if a nation goes to war, every town, every city needs to be at risk. You make that decision and everybody has skin in the game."

He argued that the burdens of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan haven't been properly shared across the U.S. population, and emphasized that the U.S. military could train draftees so that there wouldn't be a loss of effectiveness in the war effort.

"I've enjoyed the benefits of a professional service, but I think we'd be better if we actually went to a draft these days," he said. "There would some loss of professionalism, but for the nation it would be a better course."

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq placed unfair and extreme burdens on the professional military, especially reservists, and their families, McChrystal said.
read more here

Big dip in unemployment rate for young veterans

Big dip in unemployment rate for young veterans
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 6, 2012

The jobless rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans fell dramatically in June despite an overall economy that produced few jobs and left the national unemployed rate unchanged.

The unemployment rate for Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans fell to 9.5 percent, down from 12.7 percent the previous month and from 13.3 percent in June 2011, according to the employment situation report released Friday by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For veterans of all generations, the June jobless rate was 7.4 percent, a slight improvement over the 7.8 percent rate for May.

The national unemployment rate remains 8.2 percent in a sour economy that produced just 80,000 jobs last month.

Big month-to-month changes in veterans’ unemployment can be the result of statistical flukes because the Labor Department’s monthly report is based on a survey of about 200,000 people, of whom just 22,000 are veterans. The June survey included just 2,600 people who left active duty since Sept. 11, 2001, to draw conclusions about the jobless rate for the newest generation of veterans.

Still, the statistical improvement comes amidst a continuing expansion of federal and private-sector programs aimed at helping veterans get jobs.
read more here

Over 200 soldiers re-enlist during Fort Hood July 4th Freedom Fest

More than 200 Fort Hood soldiers re-enlist on Independence Day
by ASHLEY GOUDEAU KVUE News
Photojournalist DATHAN HULL
kvue.com
Posted on July 5, 2012

FORT HOOD, Texas -- What better way to celebrate America's birthday than to celebrate it with America's heroes?

"It's good to see people come out and support the military," said Fort Hood Solider 1st Lieutenant Kenneth Tarpley.

"You know, being a service member, in uniform, you know it kind of gives us the opportunity to reflect back on all those that served before us to be able to enjoy these freedoms that we're actually enjoying today," added Fort Hood Command Sergeant Major Antonio Dunston.

More than 50,000 people from across Central Texas traveled to "The Great Place," or Fort Hood, for Freedom Fest 2012.

There was a cannon salute to each U.S. state and territory, and food, music and games.

A day for soldiers to spend time with the people they're protecting.

"Because we've been on the ground so long from all the years of fighting the global war on terrorism, it's just good to see them get out and enjoy their families on a day like today," said CSM Dunston.
read more here

Army Battles War-Stress Stigma

Army Battles War-Stress Stigma
Written by
Derry London
WLTX news
Jul 6, 2012

Washington, DC (written by Gail Sheehy/Special for USA Today) -- Daniel Rodriguez joined the Army when his home life collapsed. His parents split. His father dropped from a heart attack. He was 18 and on the runty side for a high school football player, but with a dream of playing at a Division I college.

Three weeks after burying his father, the angry teen made his way to an Army recruitment center. Like so many of today's volunteers, he was looking for a new home, discipline and the directions for becoming a man.

But Iraq and Afghanistan are unique in America's wars, clouding that traditional coming-of-age road map. The invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and family breakup have soared for the military there, along with repeated redeployments and a 360-degree combat-alert range. The most glaring result is the 80% increase in suicides, averaging nearly one a day this year - the fastest pace in the nation's decade of war. This is the second year in a row that more active-duty soldiers have been lost to self-inflicted death than to combat.

These appalling statistics have given the Army a new mission - to treat those invisible wounds of war before soldiers come home with their mental composure shattered.

Pvt. Rodriguez was a prime candidate to join the epidemic of military suicides. During 12 months of walking patrols in what he calls the "concrete jungle" of Baghdad during the surge of 2007, he dodged more than 1,000 roadside bombs. But he lost a dozen of his buddies. And in Afghanistan, he was thrown together in a remote outpost with Afghan soldiers who betrayed the Americans and sided with the Taliban.
read more here

Tim McGraw Awards U.S. Army Sergeant With Mortgage-Free Home

Tim McGraw Awards U.S. Army Sergeant With Mortgage-Free Home
Posted Jul 6th 2012
Erin Duvall

Chicago fans may be anxious for the Brothers of the Sun tour stop at Soldier Field on Saturday (June 7), but none more so than U.S. Army Sergeant Linda Brashears. Earlier this year, Tim McGraw, who is co-headlining the trek with Kenny Chesney, launched HomeFront, in conjuction with Operation Homefront and Chase, to provide mortgage-free homes to American veterans. During their stop in the Windy City, Tim will congratulate Sergeant Brashears on her new home.

"My sister's a veteran of the first Gulf War," says Tim. "My uncle was a Vietnam veteran and my grandfather was a World War II veteran. I've always felt a deep sense of respect and obligation to our troops. Being able to reward them for their dedicated work with a new home is even more rewarding for us. It feels so good to give back to them, and to have the opportunity to entertain them is something I'm honored to do."
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Cape Fear Nam Knights returns Dog Tags to families

Veteran's family reunited with long-lost dogtags
Submitted by Cliff Pyron
07/05/2012

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- A piece of military and personal history is back in the hands of a veteran's family. Nearly half a century after he lost them in Vietnam, Richard Wiler's family now has their dad's dog tags back.

Nearly 20 years ago a man named Ray Milligan was on a medical aid mission in Vietnam when he bought about 400 dog tags being sold by a street vendor. One of them was Richard Wiler's.

The Cape Fear Chapter of the Nam Knights made the trip from North Carolina to New Jersey and back, giving families like the Wilers a special moment to honor their father.

"It's kind of surreal," Wiler's son Jeff said. "It's really cool, I'll probably wear them for a few days before I pull them off."
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Stop abusing people trying to help

If you are a veteran needing help to heal from where this country sent you, there are things you can excuse yourself for, but there are things there is no excuse for. It is the way you treat people.
If you ask someone for help then treat them like an enemy, it is unacceptable.

A veteran called me asking for help and I tried to do what I could for him explaining that I can help him spiritually. He had a need to find shelter after being kicked out of a relatives house. I told him where to turn to. I guess that isn't where he wanted to go because he called back from another relative's house.

He still didn't want to go where he needed to be any more than he wanted to stop drinking.

He called back saying he was ready to start healing and was willing to work at it.

Low and behold he got kicked out of that house too.

He called me again taking out his anger on me and wanted me to send people I knew to take care of him. I could tell he was drunk and understood why he was getting kicked out of other places. He wanted everyone to help him under his terms.

He is getting 100% disability but 5 days into the month, he was broke so he couldn't get a motel room or even buy gas for his car to get to where he needed to be.

He told me that he had been in several programs for PTSD but none of them worked. He is part of the reason they didn't.

While you may feel frustration trying to get the help you need, don't take it out on people trying to help you as much as they can. One more thing to notice is that while you may feel as if everyone owes you something, the people trying to help do it for free because they want to help but they don't owe you anything. They can't take away all of your problems with a magic wand. They can't do it all for you. You have to work at it.

If a long list of people you know have turned their back on you, take a look at what you did and then maybe, just maybe you'll understand why and then stop treating everyone like crap!

Marine suicides at 24 and 100 attempts so far for 2012

Need any more evidence Resiliency Training does not work? Is anyone listening?

MILITARY: Six Marine suicides recorded in June
By MARK WALKER

Six active-duty Marines took their own lives in June, raising the number of self-inflicted deaths among leathernecks this year to 24.

The number provides fresh evidence that the Marine Corps' efforts, like that of all the service branches, continues to struggle in reducing suicides. The 24 deaths so far this year compare with 32 for all of last year and 37 recorded in 2010.

An additional 14 Marines attempted suicide in June, raising the number of suicide attempts for the year to 100. That compares with 163 attempts recorded last year and 172 in 2010.

The report from the Marine Corps' suicide prevention program comes as the military overall is averaging a suicide a day, the highest seen since the outbreak of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Don’t tell me I don’t understand struggles with PTSD

Op-Ed: Don’t tell me I don’t understand struggles with PTSD
By Samantha A. Torrence
Jul 2, 2012

Caretakers of veterans understand more than they are given credit for by their veterans and the citizens of their countries. The collective voice of many wives tells just how much they do understand.

“You just don’t understand.” Those four words seem to be the most recited mantra for many veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And, for many caretakers, that mantra is one of the most frustrating to hear. It means that our day is about to become a war zone, filled with suspicion and paper bullets of the brain. Many times in support groups we are told that we will never understand and, though we may be able to sympathize, we will never be able to empathize. I disagree.

I do understand. I understand more than I am given credit for, and I think people need to become aware that caretakers and military spouses are not exempt from the hardships of war. Our cross is just as heavy; it is simply shaped differently.

I may not have enlisted, but I did voluntarily marry a man who went into the military.

He was willing to give up his life for his country, and I have given up my life, my best friend, and my partner for my country. He came home in body, but he is no longer the man I married. I stay to care for a stranger. My life no longer belongs to me; it belongs to my husband, the VA, the State, and the Republic. Just like people say that Veterans do not deserve to be pitied because they volunteered for their hardships, I am also told that I chose to stay in this marriage and deserve no more than bumper-sticker salutes.

I may not have gone into a war zone where I could be shot at or blown up, but my world is a war zone. I wake up every day ready to be a human shield for my husband. I take the brunt of the criticisms and accusations from others so that he will not be triggered. My enemy is just as invisible as the insurgents, for I never know when someone will hate me for simply being married to a military man and therefore deny me the opportunities I need to keep my family afloat. I take "friendly fire" every time my veteran is triggered. I live with a constant awareness that, if I do not keep my veteran calm, I will have to endure a battlefield of anger waged in my heart and soul with the casualties being my emotions and self-worth.
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The military is a lousy healer, congress is a lousy watchdog

The military is a lousy healer, congress is a lousy watchdog
by Chaplain Kathie

Senator Murray is right but when she said "We need to be much further along." it didn't answer why it is we are not.

It is not that the DOD has any excuses left. After all we're talking about 40 years of government funded research on Combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder they had the in their hands. So far they haven't even acknowledged the fact that PTSD caused by combat is a different type of it any more than they have been able to tell the servicemen and women why they have it while others don't. They just keep pushing programs that don't work.

Congress has not held a single person accountable after all the "experts" testified during the endless parade heading into Washington to advise congress. The DOD has held no one accountable for failures. As for groups congress turns to, they end up giving awards to people doing the failing.

As in the case of Dr. Ira Katz was given an award from NAMI after Veterans for Common Sense exposed what he had done.

Congress has been hearing the same stories of suffering veterans and their families, the same stories about what the backlog of claims has been doing to them as the suicides went up along with attempted suicides.

Soldiers are waiting for congress to do their jobs and find solutions. They want to see someone held accountable just as much as they want help!

Invisible wounds of war: The military is a lousy healer
Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)

Two service members who went into harm’s way to fight America’s 21st Century wars met a different challenge on Monday, facing a battery of TV cameras to talk of what Sen. Patty Murray called “the invisible wounds of war.”

Sgt. Stephen Davis, having been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, had the diagnosis withdrawn and was accused by a doctor of “exaggerating my symptoms.” Sgt. David Leavitt, another victim of PTSD, told his superiors in Afghanistan, “I’m not O.K. I need help.”

He received very little help there, with no followup back home. Leavitt looked down at his service dog and said: She’s save my life and given me purpose.”

The treatment of those who have served and served well — Sgt. Davis earned a purple heart and bronze star, Sgt. Leavitt has done tours in Iraq and Afghanistan — has raised the ire of Sen. Murray. She has brought activist leadership to what used to be a Senate backwater as chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

“‘Toughen up!’ they hear that all the time,” Murray said. “I believe that in this day and age, we should be much further along in dealing with military mental health issues. We need to be much further along.”

She has captured the ear of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, but Murray feels Congress should set some parameters. She is introducing legislation called the Mental Health Access Act of 2012, and hopes to make it bipartisan.
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Missouri National Guard member dies while training in Guatemala

Missouri Guard member dies in Guatemala
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jul 5, 2012

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri National Guard soldier has been killed while participating in a training exercise in Guatemala.

Guard officials say 34-year-old Staff Sgt. Robert J. Traxel of Union died Monday after being struck in the head by a tree limb knocked down by wind generated by helicopter rotor blades.
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63,000 soldiers found to have Combat PTSD during screening

This is what Point Man Ministries has been trying to warn people about. As bad as the numbers are today they are only going to get higher later on. Dana Morgan, President of Point Man International Ministries holds conference calls every Monday night on Skype with Out Post Leaders across the country. Combat PTSD is our number on topic. We handle the spiritual needs of combat veterans and their families with Home Fronts lead by the spouse of a veteran.

This is not "rocket science" but it is experience knowing what works because Point Man has been around since 1984, almost as long as I've been doing the same type of work.

You probably haven't heard of Point Man because we're all volunteers and none of us have enough money to get the publicity other groups have but on top of that, none of us have the time to go out and scream "look at me" and dig into your pockets.

I am so lousy at it that when I help a veteran, I never mention the fact that I am supported by donations and can't pay my own bills to cover the costs of doing what I do. While I'm no good at finding funding, I've been doing this for 30 years and can tell you the same thing I tell the veterans I work with. None of this is hopeless. None of them are helpless. While contrary to a recent articles saying some are "cured" by the VA in 5 years" along with a footlocker filled with other nonsense claims, there is a lot of healing going on the media doesn't even know about.

Read this article and take in the numbers were heading for then watch the two videos at the bottom of this to hear from an Iraq veteran and then you'll know how much is really possible.

Soldiers seeking routine medical care now get PTSD screening as well
By SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
Published: July 5, 2012

The Army is asking soldiers who go to the doctor for ailments such as back pain or colds to answer questions about depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in a bid to identify those who may need help.

About 63,000 soldiers out of 2 million screened during routine doctor appointments since 2007 have tested positive for previously unrecognized and untreated mental health problems, according to Col. Charles Engel, a Walter Reed National Military Medical Center doctor.

“The patients may be there for anything from a broken arm to an upper respiratory problem,” Engel told experts gathered at a recent meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. “Very seldom do people go to their primary care doctor just for stress or depression problems.”


Studies show that the average person with PTSD waits 12 years before being treated. As recently as 2004, only about a quarter of soldiers who were suffering from PTSD were getting specialized care, he said.


“We have a lot of people out there getting no care,” he said.
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