Report says Fayetteville VA failed vets at high risk of suicide
Fayetteville Observer
By Drew Brooks
Staff writer
Feb 02, 2013
A recent government audit of the Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center shows that the VA failed to properly check on veterans considered high suicide risks after releasing them from the hospital.
The audit precedes a report released Friday that says the vast majority of veterans seeking help from the VA who attempt suicide do so within a month of a hospital visit.
The report, billed as the first comprehensive review of veteran suicides, found that an average of 22 veterans a day committed suicide in 2010.
The audit of the Fayetteville VA was prepared by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and released Dec. 10.
It found the VA noncompliant in two areas dealing with mental health - workers failed to property follow up with patients in accordance with Veterans Health Administration policy and did not document attempts to contact patients who failed to appear for scheduled appointments.
According to the audit, nine of 10 patients who were on the high risk for suicide list did not receive sufficient follow-ups.
The VA is required to check on such patients weekly for the first month following their release, according to the review, but Fayetteville officials failed to check on the patients for the last two weeks of that period. The report released Friday by the Department of Veterans Affairs revealed that 80 percent of all suicide attempts among VA patients occur within that one-month span.
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Sunday, February 3, 2013
Marine Admits to Bludgeoning Death with No Memory of Event
Marine Admits to Bludgeoning Death with No Memory of Event
A military judge accepted a guilty plea by Lance Cpl. Darren Evans who beat his roommate, Lance Cpl. Mario Arias, to death with a crowbar in November of 2011. Evans relied on evidence to deliver his plea.
By Daniel Woolfolk
February 1, 2013
A Camp Pendleton Marine admitted to bludgeoning his roommate to death with a crowbar in November 2011 despite citing having no memory of the incident.
Lance Cpl. Darren Evans was arrested Nov. 6, 2011 after falling—or jumping—off a three-story catwalk. His roommate, Lance Cpl. Mario Arias, was found dead shortly after midnight in a room they shared in the barracks.
During a plea hearing this week, Evans told a military judge he had blacked out after drinking too much beer and vodka and couldn’t remember the crime. He relied, however, on overwhelming DNA evidence, witness testimony, toxicology reports and fingerprints authorities found on the crowbar.
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A military judge accepted a guilty plea by Lance Cpl. Darren Evans who beat his roommate, Lance Cpl. Mario Arias, to death with a crowbar in November of 2011. Evans relied on evidence to deliver his plea.
By Daniel Woolfolk
February 1, 2013
A Camp Pendleton Marine admitted to bludgeoning his roommate to death with a crowbar in November 2011 despite citing having no memory of the incident.
Lance Cpl. Darren Evans was arrested Nov. 6, 2011 after falling—or jumping—off a three-story catwalk. His roommate, Lance Cpl. Mario Arias, was found dead shortly after midnight in a room they shared in the barracks.
During a plea hearing this week, Evans told a military judge he had blacked out after drinking too much beer and vodka and couldn’t remember the crime. He relied, however, on overwhelming DNA evidence, witness testimony, toxicology reports and fingerprints authorities found on the crowbar.
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Iraq veteran with PTSD getting help after shooting
Back home, veterans battle to shake horrors of war
By JOHN BARRY
The Bulletin
Posted Feb 01, 2013
Shortly after 1 a.m. on May 9, two state troopers entered a basement apartment in a Lebanon home in a rural neighborhood.
There, according to an arrest warrant, they found Jason Durr, a recently returned veteran of the Iraq War, standing in front of a kitchen counter. Durr’s girlfriend was lying on a bed in Durr’s bedroom, bleeding from a bullet wound in her chest.
Durr has been charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault and illegal possession of an assault weapon. More than eight months later, he remains held on a $1 million bond.
While the victim was rushed to the hospital for surgery that saved her life, police started questioning Durr. Police said Durr told them that after drinking heavily with his girlfriend and a friend, he blacked out and didn’t remember the shooting. He said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and three days earlier had run out of Xanax he was prescribed for anxiety, a symptom of his condition.
Unable to speak when police questioned her after her surgery, the victim, from her hospital bed, wrote that “There was a loud noise outside that startled Jason … he had a weird glassed over look in his eyes,” and “He started having flash backs of Iraq.”
“I feel he’s a victim of war just as much as his friend (the victim) was,” said Pia Strobel, Durr’s landlady and friend. She said Durr told her as well that he blacked out that night. “When he learned what happened, he was beside himself,” she said.
“He was a very proud soldier,” Strobel said of Durr. “He’s a great guy. I can’t say enough good about him.”
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By JOHN BARRY
The Bulletin
Posted Feb 01, 2013
Shortly after 1 a.m. on May 9, two state troopers entered a basement apartment in a Lebanon home in a rural neighborhood.
There, according to an arrest warrant, they found Jason Durr, a recently returned veteran of the Iraq War, standing in front of a kitchen counter. Durr’s girlfriend was lying on a bed in Durr’s bedroom, bleeding from a bullet wound in her chest.
Durr has been charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault and illegal possession of an assault weapon. More than eight months later, he remains held on a $1 million bond.
While the victim was rushed to the hospital for surgery that saved her life, police started questioning Durr. Police said Durr told them that after drinking heavily with his girlfriend and a friend, he blacked out and didn’t remember the shooting. He said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and three days earlier had run out of Xanax he was prescribed for anxiety, a symptom of his condition.
Unable to speak when police questioned her after her surgery, the victim, from her hospital bed, wrote that “There was a loud noise outside that startled Jason … he had a weird glassed over look in his eyes,” and “He started having flash backs of Iraq.”
“I feel he’s a victim of war just as much as his friend (the victim) was,” said Pia Strobel, Durr’s landlady and friend. She said Durr told her as well that he blacked out that night. “When he learned what happened, he was beside himself,” she said.
“He was a very proud soldier,” Strobel said of Durr. “He’s a great guy. I can’t say enough good about him.”
read more here
Navy SEAL turns to treatment to heal a broken life
How is it easier to understand what it takes to heal a broken bone than it is to heal a broken life? Use whatever word you want, soul, mind, if you take issue with the choice of words in the following article, but if you do, then you are missing the most important message of it.
A broken leg bone will heal with just time but it doesn't heal right. The rest of the body suffers with endless pain, weakened by constantly compensating for the part that was broken. The pain will not allow true rest or sleep. Emotions get hung up on feeling the misery until every good experience is overcome by pain.
Yet when a broken bone is treated properly and is supported by a cast, it heals right. It heals in the right place after a doctor has reset it. Medication can numb the pain until it heals. The pain subsides as time goes by. The pain that remains is easy to adjust to and compensate for.
That is PTSD. It is a "break" that usually can't be seen by eyes unless it breaks through the skin. It can be healed with treatment but also needs to be healed with support. In this case, the support comes from family, friends, communities and mental health trauma experts. They become your cast so you are able to stand up supported until you can stand up on your own.
This story is about a Navy SEAL, as tough as they come, named Nathan. I urge you to read the whole article and if you take nothing else away from this, let it be the fact he was falling apart to the point where he wanted to end the pain he felt by ending his life.
A broken leg bone will heal with just time but it doesn't heal right. The rest of the body suffers with endless pain, weakened by constantly compensating for the part that was broken. The pain will not allow true rest or sleep. Emotions get hung up on feeling the misery until every good experience is overcome by pain.
Yet when a broken bone is treated properly and is supported by a cast, it heals right. It heals in the right place after a doctor has reset it. Medication can numb the pain until it heals. The pain subsides as time goes by. The pain that remains is easy to adjust to and compensate for.
That is PTSD. It is a "break" that usually can't be seen by eyes unless it breaks through the skin. It can be healed with treatment but also needs to be healed with support. In this case, the support comes from family, friends, communities and mental health trauma experts. They become your cast so you are able to stand up supported until you can stand up on your own.
This story is about a Navy SEAL, as tough as they come, named Nathan. I urge you to read the whole article and if you take nothing else away from this, let it be the fact he was falling apart to the point where he wanted to end the pain he felt by ending his life.
Former Navy SEAL turns to treatment
Healing a broken life: Nathan lives with survivor’s guilt and PTSD following a failed Afghan mission
UT San Diego
By Jeanette Steele1
FEB. 2, 2013
It was 5 o’clock on a July morning, and Nathan’s mother stopped the car on Park Boulevard.
They looked at the collection of San Diego’s homeless veterans stretching up the block. It was a line of haggard faces, all waiting to get a warm meal and a cot for the weekend.
Nathan, a tall, broad-shouldered former Navy SEAL, was under a court order to join them. His precarious high-wire act fueled by alcohol and post-traumatic stress disorder had finally collapsed, ending in a dust-up outside a bar and a criminal charge.
A judge mandated treatment, starting with the “Stand Down” event for homeless vets.
Nathan remembers that morning, less than seven months ago. His mother cried.
His mind still carries the image of 11 buddies whose remains he had to gather after a disastrous June 2005 mission in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains. It was the single largest loss of life for Navy SEALs at that point since World War II: Operation Red Wings.
He was becoming one of them. He was already one of them.
“I was on the way out. I’ve put a gun in my mouth. I’ve felt it in my mouth. I’ve not known if there was a round in the chamber because I’ve been so drunk. And I’ve pulled the trigger,” said the 29-year-old San Diego native.
Nathan thinks combat vets, in particular those from special operations, should get at least three months to decompress before returning to normal American life. He calls the idea a “retreat,” where service members take classes on the interaction of PTSD and drugs or alcohol and tackle their VA paperwork.
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Famous Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle killed at Texas gun range
UPDATE from CNN
Ex-Navy sniper killed at Texas gun range
By the CNN Staff
February 3, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: The suspect is a former Marine, a U.S. military official says
Eddie Ray Routh faces two counts of capital murder
Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were working to help veterans with PTSD
Kyle had declared himself the "most lethal sniper in U.S. history"
Ex-Navy sniper killed at Texas gun range
By the CNN Staff
February 3, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: The suspect is a former Marine, a U.S. military official says
Eddie Ray Routh faces two counts of capital murder
Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were working to help veterans with PTSD
Kyle had declared himself the "most lethal sniper in U.S. history"
"He was a man of incredible character, he led by example," Jason Kos, a friend of Kyle's, told CNN. "He always stopped to take time to talk to whoever was around him. Just incredibly humble, very funny as well."
Kyle helped establish the nonprofit Fitco Cares Foundation to enable veterans battling post-traumatic stress syndrome get access to exercise equipment.
In a statement, the foundation described Kyle as an "American hero" and pledged to carry on his mission.
"What began as a plea for help from Chris looking for in-home fitness equipment for his brothers- and sisters-in-arms" struggling with PTSD turned into an organization that will continue after his death, Fitco Director Travis Cox said in a statement. "Chris died doing what he filled his heart with passion -- serving soldiers struggling with the fight to overcome PTSD. His service, life and premature death will never be in vain. May God watch over his family and all those who considered Chris a true friend."
"What began as a plea for help from Chris looking for in-home fitness equipment for his brothers- and sisters-in-arms" struggling with PTSD turned into an organization that will continue after his death, Fitco Director Travis Cox said in a statement. "Chris died doing what he filled his heart with passion -- serving soldiers struggling with the fight to overcome PTSD. His service, life and premature death will never be in vain. May God watch over his family and all those who considered Chris a true friend."
Littlefield was also a veteran working to help people with PTSD, and also leaves behind a wife and children, Cox said.
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'American Sniper' author Chris Kyle fatally shot at Texas gun range
By Gil Aegerter and Alastair Jamieson
NBC News
A former Navy SEAL who wrote "American Sniper," a best-selling book about his lethal career as a marksman in Iraq, was shot to death with another man at a gun range near Stephenville, Texas, on Saturday.
Chris Kyle, 38, and the other man were found dead at the shooting range of Rough Creek Lodge on Saturday afternoon, Texas Highway Patrol spokesman Lonny Haschel told KXAS.
The gunman, identified as (the shooter) of Lancaster, Texas, was arrested after a brief pursuit, Trooper Haschel said. The other victim was named as Chad Littlefield, aged 35.
Kyle, a Texas native who grew up hunting, served four tours in Iraq with Navy SEAL Team 3. His shooting during battles in Ramadi and Fallujah became legendary, and insurgents nicknamed him the "Devil of Ramadi" and put a bounty on his head.
He was credited with 160 confirmed kills, including one in 2008 in which he said he fired from 2,100 yards away -- 1.2 miles.
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Saturday, February 2, 2013
Army tells soldiers "Satellite network isn’t for Facebook"
Army: Satellite network isn’t for Facebook
Army Times
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 1, 2013
Soldiers are using a war zone logistics satellite network to surf Facebook, Twitter and other sites that are off limits on Army computers.
And the Army is ordering them to knock it off.
An Army bulletin warns soldiers that the mobile satellite network is not for non-Army uses like file-swapping networks, checking e-mail or visiting non-Army web sites. Army deputy chief of staff for logistics Lt. Gen. Raymond Mason issued the message Jan. 13.
The terminals and mobile network are commonly used by lower enlisted soldiers to request supplies in the war zone, according to source familiar with them. The Army blocks their ability to access the commercial, classified and non-classified Internet.
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Army Times
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 1, 2013
Soldiers are using a war zone logistics satellite network to surf Facebook, Twitter and other sites that are off limits on Army computers.
And the Army is ordering them to knock it off.
An Army bulletin warns soldiers that the mobile satellite network is not for non-Army uses like file-swapping networks, checking e-mail or visiting non-Army web sites. Army deputy chief of staff for logistics Lt. Gen. Raymond Mason issued the message Jan. 13.
The terminals and mobile network are commonly used by lower enlisted soldiers to request supplies in the war zone, according to source familiar with them. The Army blocks their ability to access the commercial, classified and non-classified Internet.
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This soldier must love kittens
6 minutes ago
Photo of soldier, furry friend makes a viral splash on the web
By MEREDITH TIBBETTS
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 2, 2013
Pfc. Kevin Davidson takes a cat nap with a stray that was "adopted" by some troops at a U.S. base in Kuwait.
COURTESY OF KEVIN DAVIDSON
It’s just an image of two friends sleeping together: a warm cat seeking comfort with U.S. soldier Pfc. Kevin Davidson in Kuwait. But it went viral on the Web with the help of reddit.com and Purina pet food.
Perhaps the cat could smell food cooking inside the base or maybe it was looking for a place out of the sun. On Christmas Eve the feline curled up outside a U.S. base in Kuwait to lie down for a nap.
Like other cats and dogs at overseas posts, troops noticed him and took him inside the base. Despite the fact that “adopting as pets or mascots, caring for, or feeding any type of domestic or wild animal” is a punishable offense under the UCMJ, taking in a furry local is commonly overlooked.
As one lieutenant colonel told Stars and Stripes in 2010, there’s a lot more to worry about in the life-and-death world of a war zone than who’s sneaking puppies and kittens.
Photo of soldier, furry friend makes a viral splash on the web
By MEREDITH TIBBETTS
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 2, 2013
COURTESY OF KEVIN DAVIDSON
It’s just an image of two friends sleeping together: a warm cat seeking comfort with U.S. soldier Pfc. Kevin Davidson in Kuwait. But it went viral on the Web with the help of reddit.com and Purina pet food.
Perhaps the cat could smell food cooking inside the base or maybe it was looking for a place out of the sun. On Christmas Eve the feline curled up outside a U.S. base in Kuwait to lie down for a nap.
Like other cats and dogs at overseas posts, troops noticed him and took him inside the base. Despite the fact that “adopting as pets or mascots, caring for, or feeding any type of domestic or wild animal” is a punishable offense under the UCMJ, taking in a furry local is commonly overlooked.
As one lieutenant colonel told Stars and Stripes in 2010, there’s a lot more to worry about in the life-and-death world of a war zone than who’s sneaking puppies and kittens.
Andrew Baumgartner was a Marine, who served in Afghanistan
Surveillance video shows Marine, burglary suspect trying to get into Granger Twp home before suicide
Search ends after man turns gun on self
Posted: 02/01/2013
By: Bob Jones, newsnet5.com
By: Stephanie Ramirez, newsnet5.com
MEDINA, Ohio - Andrew Baumgartner was a Marine, who served in Afghanistan, and planned to become a cop, according to Medina County detectives.
But on Thursday night, the police were after Baumgartner after he scuffled with Sgt. Scott Schmoll on I-271 near State Route 94.
Baumgartner, 27, of Westlake, also tried to get inside a Granger Township home before disappearing into a wooded area and taking his own life.
The bizarre and tense chain of events unfolded shortly after 11 p.m., after concerned drivers called 911 to report a man walking along the expressway.
Sgt. Schmoll responded and offered to give Baumgartner a ride.
But when Schmoll patted the man down, he felt a pistol tucked inside his waistband. Schmoll didn't know it at the time, but the gun was loaded.
Suddenly, the two wrestled to the ground.
"The suspect turned on my sergeant and they were hands on and they were involved in a tussle. The sergeant told me as soon as he put his hands and felt the weapon, it started right then. It happened very fast," said Lt. Matthew Linscott.
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Search ends after man turns gun on self
Posted: 02/01/2013
By: Bob Jones, newsnet5.com
By: Stephanie Ramirez, newsnet5.com
Investigators wondered how the Marine, who had served in Afghanistan, had found so much trouble just a few months after he was discharged.
MEDINA, Ohio - Andrew Baumgartner was a Marine, who served in Afghanistan, and planned to become a cop, according to Medina County detectives.
But on Thursday night, the police were after Baumgartner after he scuffled with Sgt. Scott Schmoll on I-271 near State Route 94.
Baumgartner, 27, of Westlake, also tried to get inside a Granger Township home before disappearing into a wooded area and taking his own life.
The bizarre and tense chain of events unfolded shortly after 11 p.m., after concerned drivers called 911 to report a man walking along the expressway.
Sgt. Schmoll responded and offered to give Baumgartner a ride.
But when Schmoll patted the man down, he felt a pistol tucked inside his waistband. Schmoll didn't know it at the time, but the gun was loaded.
Suddenly, the two wrestled to the ground.
"The suspect turned on my sergeant and they were hands on and they were involved in a tussle. The sergeant told me as soon as he put his hands and felt the weapon, it started right then. It happened very fast," said Lt. Matthew Linscott.
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Vet Suicides Underestimated, likely higher than 22 a day
Vet Suicides Underestimated, Skewed by State Data
Feb 01, 2013
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
A just-released Department of Veterans Affairs analysis of suicide among veterans indicates that the number of vets taking their own lives may be higher than the VA has previously estimated, and this may be particularly true among women vets.
According to the 59-page "Suicide Data Report, 2012," suicide statistics utilizing veteran data gleaned from state death certificates may prove too unreliable
That means the number of vets that officials believe have been killing themselves every day over the past dozen years is likely higher than the 18-to-22 they have estimated. A glaring flaw in the numbers is that state death certificates, used as an identifier when compiling suicide stats for veterans, are less accurate in noting the veteran status of women, younger and unmarried vets and those with lower education levels.
"The ability of death certificates to fully capture female Veterans was particularly low; only 67 percent of true female Veterans were identified," the report states. "Younger or unmarried Veterans and those with lower levels of education were also more likely to be missed on the death certificate."
The findings demonstrate the value of linking information from state death records to VA and DoD records through data sharing agreements, the report states.
read more here
Feb 01, 2013
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
A just-released Department of Veterans Affairs analysis of suicide among veterans indicates that the number of vets taking their own lives may be higher than the VA has previously estimated, and this may be particularly true among women vets.
According to the 59-page "Suicide Data Report, 2012," suicide statistics utilizing veteran data gleaned from state death certificates may prove too unreliable
That means the number of vets that officials believe have been killing themselves every day over the past dozen years is likely higher than the 18-to-22 they have estimated. A glaring flaw in the numbers is that state death certificates, used as an identifier when compiling suicide stats for veterans, are less accurate in noting the veteran status of women, younger and unmarried vets and those with lower education levels.
"The ability of death certificates to fully capture female Veterans was particularly low; only 67 percent of true female Veterans were identified," the report states. "Younger or unmarried Veterans and those with lower levels of education were also more likely to be missed on the death certificate."
The findings demonstrate the value of linking information from state death records to VA and DoD records through data sharing agreements, the report states.
read more here
516 suicides across all branches for 2012
While Col. Carl Castro was quoted in this article, he was not asked why his programs have failed and what is being done to correct this less than honorable outcome. Why isn't anyone asking him about Battlemind? Why isn't anyone asking him about Resilience Training? Why isn't anyone asking who is being held accountable for any of this?
By Sig Christenson
Updated 11:01 pm, Friday, February 1, 2013
The Army, by far the largest branch of the armed forces, set a record for suicides last year with 325, almost two-thirds of all military suicides.
It also was a record year throughout the military, with 516 suicides across all branches.
Suicides have bedeviled the military for years, with deaths rising after the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the Army, which has borne the brunt of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, has suffered the most.
Posts most involved in those wars reflect the problem, and none has more suicides than Fort Hood.
The Central Texas installation, which sent two divisions to Iraq three times, has had 129 suicides since 2003, including 19 last year.
The Army's Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Office has found that suicides are driven by a complex set of factors ranging from deployment time and relationship problems to substance abuse and money woes.
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Army Col. Carl Castro, director of the Military Operational Medicine Research Program, said that while much is known about factors involved suicides, the Pentagon is playing catch-up.and then he said
“And I think that's sort of where we're at and why this is such a difficult problem to get a hold of,” Castro said. “They're all fully engaged, so I think until we can sort of turn that corner and get that sort of maximum involvement, it's always just going to be a real tough nut to crack, but we are committed to solving this problem.”Most suicides ever for Army, military
By Sig Christenson
Updated 11:01 pm, Friday, February 1, 2013
The Army, by far the largest branch of the armed forces, set a record for suicides last year with 325, almost two-thirds of all military suicides.
It also was a record year throughout the military, with 516 suicides across all branches.
Suicides have bedeviled the military for years, with deaths rising after the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the Army, which has borne the brunt of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, has suffered the most.
Posts most involved in those wars reflect the problem, and none has more suicides than Fort Hood.
The Central Texas installation, which sent two divisions to Iraq three times, has had 129 suicides since 2003, including 19 last year.
The Army's Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Office has found that suicides are driven by a complex set of factors ranging from deployment time and relationship problems to substance abuse and money woes.
A plague of military suicides
The Army has tried to curb the number of soldiers killing themselves amid repeated tours to war zones, but so far it's found no solutions. The number of suicides since 2003 reported at some of the Army's largest posts:
Fort Hood: 129
Fort Bragg, N.C. : 101
Fort Campbell, Ky.: 92
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.: 81
Fort Carson, Colo.: 59
Fort Stewart, Ga.: 57
SOURCE: U.S. Army
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