Suicide rate for Oklahoma veterans double civilian rate

This week in Montana a 62 year old veteran went to the VA, entered the men's room, pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head. That same night over in Lubbock, a Marine veteran was taken into custody by a SWAT Team standoff. In Massachusetts a veteran with PTSD got into his truck and drove it into a convenience store. This was captured on video.

In Washington DC Army Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter received the Medal of Honor for saving lives in Afghanistan but he has also been trying to save the lives of other veterans like him with PTSD. This came a day after the Department of Defense released the Army suicide report. As of the end of July 94 soldiers, 58 Army National Guardsmen and 32 Army Reservists committed suicide. All of this comes after the Pentagon spent over $4 billion on mental health.

Out of Wisconsin news came that domestic violence incidents involving veterans was on the rise. "There are tens of thousands of domestic abuse incidents every year in southeastern Wisconsin. As wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, the number involving veterans is growing."

Keep in mind that this is only Wednesday morning. Topping off all the reports that prove beyond a shadow of doubt that all the money spent, all the claims made, all the speeches given, they are not really doing anything to help the war fighters or their families heal.

Billions are spent every year by government branches, agencies and charities but the bad numbers go up. We've been hearing what they are doing about it but not seeing anything to show that something is working. Is anyone paying attention to all of this?

When you read the following you'll know what else is happening the national news just doesn't have time for. The national tragedy for veterans and their families is a worsening national disgrace!

Suicide rate for Oklahoma veterans, active-duty military sees incline
The Norman Transcript
By Chase Cook, Oklahoma Watch
August 28, 2013

NORMAN — Oklahoma veterans and active-duty military personnel are killing themselves at twice the rate of civilians, despite increased efforts to address the problem.

The 2011 suicide rate for soldiers was about 44 per 100,000 population, according to an Oklahoma Watch analysis of Oklahoma State Department of Health data. This rate includes active-duty military as well as veterans from the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea and World War II. The civilian rate for people over the age of 18 was about 22 per 100,000.

In 2011, 141 of the state’s 684 suicides were veterans, according to state health department records.

The veteran suicide rate in Oklahoma is down from a peak of about 46 in 2008, but researchers said that year had increased suicides due to the Great Recession. The rate dropped to about 39 in 2009 and has since climbed back up.

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services recently allocated $500,000 in new funding for suicide prevention programs, including veterans outreach.
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Friends of Ex-Marine Behind SWAT Standoff Say PTSD Played A Factor

Friends of Ex-Marine Behind SWAT Standoff Say PTSD Played A Factor
Everything Lubbock.com
August 27, 2013

A SWAT standoff outside a Central Lubbock home Monday night, ended peacefully, but tonight friends of the ex-marine behind it say post traumatic stress disorder played a major factor.

Jordan Bailey has known Gabriel Edmeier for two years and said when they first started hanging out she knew things weren't right.

"I knew that he had kinda had some emotional problems from being in the war," said Bailey. "But I honestly never thought anything like that would have happened."

Gabriel Edmeier, 28, barricaded himself in his home on the 2200 block of 33rd street Monday, where Lubbock police say he threatened to kill himself or anyone who entered.

LPD said Edmeier is an ex-marine experienced in combat and was armed with semi-automatic weapons and body armor.
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SWAT standoff ends peacefully

Who said rich people don't serve in the military?

Retired Army Officer and Chicago Billionaire Becomes Latest High-Profile Transgender Veteran
Business Insider
BRIAN JONES
AUG. 27, 2013

In an announcement via her company last week, the normally private billionaire and retired lieutenant colonel formerly known as James Pritzker announced she is transgender and would henceforth like to be known as Jennifer Natalya Pritzker.

"This change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly. Pritzker now identifies herself as a woman for all business and personal undertakings," the statement said.

According to Raw Story, Pritzker, 62, enlisted in the Army in 1974 and earned her commission as an infantry officer in '79. After stints with the 82nd and 101st Airborne, she transitioned to the Illinois National Guard. She retired from the military in 2001.

But Pritzker was obviously better known for her wealth than her military ties. Her family owns the Hyatt Hotel branch, the Marmon group, and a large stake of the Carnival Cruise Line, among others.

Her cousin is current U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.
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Navy veteran has to prove to the VA she is still not dead,,,again

Veteran falsley declared dead
WISHTV.com
By Lori Wilson
August 27, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An Indianapolis veteran is speaking out after she was falsely declared dead -- not once -- but twice.

Petty Officer Cynthia Keough-Scruggs called 24-Hour News 8 to share her story after we recently ran the story of another vet who had been falsely declared dead in Fort Wayne.

“I felt like it was a joke, like are you serious,” said Scruggs.

To the military, in 2009, Petty Officer Cynthia Keough-Scruggs was dead. She finished boot camp in 1986. She went on to serve eight years active duty in the Navy, and four years Reserve duty.

In February of 2009, Cynthia's 16-year-old daughter got a letter from the VA stating her mother was dead and they needed her to provide a death certificate. It took her months of phone calls and trips to the local VA to get reinstated in April.

Then, a few months later, in July of that same year, she got another letter claiming she was dead, and this time, the government said her estate owed them money.
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Navy veteran finishing college killed in robbery

Navy veteran finishing college killed in robbery
Suspect in custody but has yet to be charged
By Ellen Jean Hirst and Karen Chen
Chicago Tribune reporters
August 27, 2013

A 33-year-old Chicago State University student was preparing for his last year of studies when he was shot and killed Sunday afternoon during a robbery at his apartment building in the South Chicago neighborhood, authorities said.

The gunman shot Telkia Burns in the right temple about 3 p.m. and fled with his money and house keys, according to Chicago police.

"I'm just a mother without a child," Katherine Burns said. "That's all."

An 18-year-old suspect was in custody over the shooting in the 2900 block of East 91st Street but had not been charged, according to police. When the robber tried to go through Burns' pockets, Burns fought back and was shot in the head, police said.

Burns was a Navy veteran who learned to speak Japanese while stationed in Japan for three years, according to Milton Thornton, who said he served in the military with him. Burns was studying community health at Chicago State through a Veterans Affairs work-study program, Thornton said.
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Vet commits suicide at Montana VA hospital

Vet commits suicide at VA hospital campus
Independent Record
By SANJAY TALWANI
August 26, 2013

A 62-year-old man committed suicide Monday at the Veterans Affairs hospital campus at Fort Harrison.

“We did have a death here on campus,” VA Montana spokeswoman Terrie Casey said. “Obviously we’re saddened and concerned about the event.”

She said the deceased man was a veteran. She did not immediately know whether he was a patient receiving care at the facility.

Lewis and Clark County Coroner M.E. “Mickey” Nelson confirmed that the man died from a single gunshot wound in a restroom with the door closed. It was reported at about 12:30 p.m.
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Despite backlogs, VA disability claims processors get bonuses

Despite backlogs, VA disability claims processors get bonuses
Washington Post
National Security
By Mary Shinn, Daniel Moore and Steven Rich
Published: August 25 2013

Documents show that a board of appeals found in 2012 that almost three out of four appealed claims were wrong or based on incomplete information.

While veterans waited longer than ever in recent years for their wartime disability compensation, the Department of Veterans Affairs gave its workers millions of dollars in bonuses for “excellent” performances that effectively encouraged them to avoid claims that needed extra work to document veterans’ injuries, a News21 investigation has found.

In 2011, a year in which the claims backlog ballooned by 155 percent, more than two-thirds of claims processors shared $5.5 million in bonuses, according to salary data from the Office of Personnel Management.

The more complex claims were often set aside by workers so they could keep their jobs, meet performance standards or, in some cases, collect extra pay, said VA claims processors and union representatives. Those claims now make up much of the VA’s widely scrutinized disability claims backlog, defined by the agency as claims pending more than 125 days.

“At the beginning of the month . . . I’d try to work my really easy stuff so I could get my numbers up,” said Renee Cotter, a union steward for the Reno, Nev., local of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).

Now, claims workers said, they fear the VA’s aggressive new push to finish all one-year-old claims by Oct. 1 — and eliminate the entire backlog by 2015 — could continue the emphasis on quantity over quality in claims processing that has often led to mistakes. VA workers have processed 1 million claims a year for three years in a row.
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Lawyer for driver in store crash caught on video says "Client has PTSD"

Lawyer for driver in store crash: Client has PTSD
WWLP News
August 27, 2013

ORLEANS, Mass. (AP) - An Army veteran seriously wounded while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq has pleaded not guilty to ramming his pickup truck through the front of a Dennis convenience store and will undergo an evaluation to see whether he's eligible for a veteran's diversionary program.

Christopher Sprague was also ordered by a judge Monday in Orleans District Court not to drive and not to drink alcohol.

A lawyer for the 32-year-old Sprague, the son of a Yarmouth police officer, tells the Cape Cod Times his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has no memory of the crash Sunday.
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Veteran Speaks Out About Military Suicides and PTSD

Veteran Speaks Out About Military Suicides
WSIL TV
By Matthew Searcy
Story Created: Aug 26, 2013

MCLEANSBORO -- A McLeansboro veteran impacted by post traumatic stress disorder is sharing his story with local lawmakers. He hopes to promote positive change at the state level.

Michael Little has seen firsthand the impact of post traumatic stress disorder. It's an issue he says deserves more attention.

"I can personally attest to it because I have lost nine shipmates to suicide since I have returned home during my tours in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Little.

The loss of friends Tom Murphy and Aledia Bordas, along with many others, has been difficult to accept.

"It is something that hurts me because I wonder everyday if there was something more that I could have done to help these men and women," explained Little.
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FBI says Iraq veteran tried to hire KKK hitmen

Iraq veteran from Munford tried to hire KKK hit men to kill black neighbor, FBI officials said (updated)
AL News
By Carol Robinson
August 26, 2013

A Munford man is in federal custody after authorities say he tried to hire the Ku Klux Klan to kill his black neighbor.

FBI agents arrested Allen Wayne "Big Dad" Morgan, 29, about 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Econo Lodge in Oxford, said FBI spokesman Paul Daymond. Morgan is charged with murder-for-hire, and also under investigation for possible hate crimes.

Authorities said Morgan, and Iraq veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, thought he was hiring the KKK to kill neighbor Clifford Maurice Mosley. They said he spelled out in detail how he wanted the man killed.
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