Making peace: Profile of Army, Marine Corps veteran Chris Chatwin
Steamboat Today
By Joel Reichenberger
September 1, 2013
Steamboat Springs — Chris Chatwin thought he knew the price he had paid for the nine years he spent in war zones, the six tours to Iraq and Afghanistan he took with the U.S. military and the two years he spent serving as a security contractor.
He was in three improvised explosive device explosions. He was shot twice. Post-traumatic stress disorder set in early in his career and never has gone away.
PTSD terrorizes him, forcing him to wince at the thought of Fourth of July fireworks, to plot an exit out of every building he enters and, at times, to slow down to 30 mph on the interstate while he surveys the roadside for bombs.
When he was diagnosed last year with a rare infectious disease contracted during his military stint, it took from him the one thing he thought he’d escaped with: his physical health.
“That was the hardest part,” he said. “I survived all these deployments and to come back and get this disease ... I took it really hard. I almost went as far as ending myself. Through the grace of God, I didn’t.”
read more here
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Wounded soldier's wife went into early labor
Pregnant wife of hero soldier who lost a lung in Afghanistan went into labour two months early after seeing his 'horrific injuries'
Daily Mail
By REBECCA SEALES
1 September 2013
At almost seven months pregnant, Helen Molloy faced every army wife's worst nightmare when two grim-faced soldiers came knocking at her door.
She was told her beloved husband Tom, who was deployed in Afghanistan as a Lance Corporal, had been dreadfully wounded by a mortar attack which claimed the lives of two of his friends.
Despite an eight-hour emergency operation at Camp Bastion, his life still hung in the balance.
Tom was flown to Birmingham, where he was rushed to the military medical unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston.
Desperate with worry, Helen was handed her husband's wedding ring, which he always wore round his neck as a symbol of their love.
She was warned that there might not be another chance to say she loved him.
The shock proved too much, and sparked a second emergency as Helen went into labour nine weeks early.
'When two soldiers turned up at my door and asked if I was married to Tom Molloy, I thought that was it,' says Helen, 32, who already had a daughter, Amelia, then just two years old.
'I thought my husband was dead. I’d been out shopping for things for my baby shower. The soldiers told me Tom had been injured by a mortar attack but they couldn’t tell me much more. I felt so scared.'
read more here
Also
Daily Mail
By REBECCA SEALES
1 September 2013
At almost seven months pregnant, Helen Molloy faced every army wife's worst nightmare when two grim-faced soldiers came knocking at her door.
She was told her beloved husband Tom, who was deployed in Afghanistan as a Lance Corporal, had been dreadfully wounded by a mortar attack which claimed the lives of two of his friends.
Despite an eight-hour emergency operation at Camp Bastion, his life still hung in the balance.
Tom was flown to Birmingham, where he was rushed to the military medical unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston.
Desperate with worry, Helen was handed her husband's wedding ring, which he always wore round his neck as a symbol of their love.
She was warned that there might not be another chance to say she loved him.
The shock proved too much, and sparked a second emergency as Helen went into labour nine weeks early.
'When two soldiers turned up at my door and asked if I was married to Tom Molloy, I thought that was it,' says Helen, 32, who already had a daughter, Amelia, then just two years old.
'I thought my husband was dead. I’d been out shopping for things for my baby shower. The soldiers told me Tom had been injured by a mortar attack but they couldn’t tell me much more. I felt so scared.'
read more here
Also
New lung bypass center could bring wounded home faster
Army Times
By Michelle Tan
Staff writer
Aug. 19, 2013
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS — Spc. Eric Griego was on patrol in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province when his unit was ambushed and an enemy bullet tore into his neck.
“I stumbled to the ground. I wasn’t even sure what happened,” Griego said. “I fired off a few shots and my left arm, from shoulder to fingertips, was completely numb.”
Griego, of 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, then began having trouble breathing.
The bullet had entered the lower left side of his neck, damaged part of his left lung, ricocheted off the third vertebra in his spine, and then destroyed all of his right lung.
It was Oct. 18, 2010.
Days earlier, the military in Afghanistan received the equipment and specialists required to give patients a process called extracorporeal member oxygenation.
read more here
Actor Gary Sinise Becomes Honorary Marine
Actor Gary Sinise Becomes Honorary Marine
DVIDS
by Pfc. Daniel Hosack
Aug 30, 2013
WASHINGTON - Actor and musician Gary A. Sinise was named an honorary U.S. Marine during a ceremony at the Home of the Commandants, Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., Aug. 29.
Sinise shares this title with other notable people including actor Chuck Norris and Pulitzer prize-winning photographer Joe Rosenthal.
“This was one of the most extraordinary nights. I was totally surprised by what the general gave me tonight. I’m humbled, shocked, moved and motivated to keep standing up for our men and women and giving back to them,” said Sinise.
Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, hosted the ceremony at his home at the Barracks.
read more here
DVIDS
by Pfc. Daniel Hosack
Aug 30, 2013
WASHINGTON - Actor and musician Gary A. Sinise was named an honorary U.S. Marine during a ceremony at the Home of the Commandants, Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., Aug. 29.
Sinise shares this title with other notable people including actor Chuck Norris and Pulitzer prize-winning photographer Joe Rosenthal.
“This was one of the most extraordinary nights. I was totally surprised by what the general gave me tonight. I’m humbled, shocked, moved and motivated to keep standing up for our men and women and giving back to them,” said Sinise.
Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, hosted the ceremony at his home at the Barracks.
read more here
Suicide Prevention starts with what works
Suicide Prevention starts with what works
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 1, 2013
Suicide Prevention month begins today but as we've seen in the past, it has done little good before. We need to start with a fresh look at something we just don't talk enough about. What works to prevent suicides instead of what doesn't. As you read the numbers below keep in mind there are hundreds of attempted suicides and many of them trying more than once. This also comes after the crisis hotline has taken in thousands of call.
"The Army, by far the largest of the military services, had the highest number of suicides among active-duty troops last year at 182, but the Marine Corps, whose suicide numbers had declined for two years, had the largest percentage increase – a 50 percent jump to 48. The Marines' worst year was 2009's 52 suicides. The Air Force recorded 59 suicides, up 16 percent from the previous year, and the Navy had 60, up 15 percent." At least that is what all the major news publications were reporting however, they left out the National Guards and Reservists.
The latest report from the DOD on Army suicides says "CY 2012: 185 169 have been confirmed as suicides and 16 remain under investigation but the report also includes "CY 2012: 140 93 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve." When you add the totals together there were 492 military suicides along with over 8,000 veterans.
We need to begin with honesty. If we ignore what the truth is, then we will repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
Today is a good time to also focus on what the military got right since I am alway slamming what they got wrong producing more suicides after all these years. This isn't a hopeless situation unless they admit the have been mislead on the programs they have been pushing. There is no way to spin the results no matter how hard they try. Telling reporters that most had not been deployed doesn't work because that would mean their mental health evaluations on recruits are useless as well as their training because if they cannot keep non-combat forces from committing suicide they have zero chance of preventing suicides among combat forces. For what else they got wrong you can read it in The Warrior Saw because when it comes to PTSD, it is not just what they see with their eyes during combat, it is how they see themselves afterwards as well.
What works comes with three parts and the military has what they need already in place. Experts agree that the mind, body and spirit must be treated in order to heal as much as possible.
The military has mental health professionals trained to evaluate and treat servicemen and women. What they lack is specialized training on trauma. Without this training they do the same thing other psychiatrists and psychologist do, misdiagnose Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as something else. The only way to get PTSD is after trauma but it includes so many different things that if they are not looking for PTSD, they will find another illness instead. The answer is to train them on trauma. The best Psychologists and Psychiatrists are not only trained, they are veterans as well so they are able to not just understand but share common experiences.
Some of the best training for me was between 2008 and 2010 when I went to just about every class within traveling distance for Crisis Intervention focusing on the responders to traumatic events because as they care for the survivors, they need even more care due to how many times they are exposed to events as part of their jobs.
They also need to have sexual trauma experts to treat the men and women victimized by criminal acts against them. It has been proven that PTSD occurs after this assault but when you add in the fact the perpetrators are one of their own, one they would have trusted with their lives in combat, this is harder to heal from.
Then the military needs to utilize physical trainers to focus on teaching the troops to help their bodies calm down again when no longer in danger. After all, they taught the troops how to use muscles they didn't even know they had in training, they also need to help them adapt back again.
The military has in place Chaplains. These Chaplains need to be trained as well in the basics of trauma intervention. Once this is done they have a tool to help them focus more on healing and less on judging. Too often a soldier has turned to the Chaplains for the moral injury only to be told they are going to hell. Chaplains are just as vital in all of this as any of the other experts.
If the military uses the best they have in the right way, you'll see less suicides and whole lot more healing.
Here are some resources to help you understand what I am talking about.
The International Fellowship of Chaplains. I had this training in 2008 with Dr. David Vorce. "Chaplain Vorce is a proud father of six (6) children, a former U.S. Marine, a psychiatric nurse, and a retired Lieutenant with the Saginaw County Sheriffs Department where he served in the Special Operations Division. He also has 20 years as a Police Chaplain and nearly 36 years as a martial arts instructor. Doctor Vorce has a Doctor of Education Degree, a Masters Degree in Counseling, a Bachelors Degree in Biblical Studies, and is FBI certified in the areas of Critical Incident Stress (CIS), Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CIDS), Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), Grief and Loss and Chaplaincy."
Another training in 2009 was with Center for Disaster and Extreme Event Preparedness. "The Center for Disaster & Extreme Event Preparedness (DEEP Center) conducts training, research, and service in the areas of disaster behavioral health, special populations preparedness, and disaster epidemiology.
Spiritually there is none better than Point Man International Ministries. I am proud to be part of this group especially when they have been working on the spiritual part of healing since 1984.
We talk a lot about Peer support but when done wrong, it can do more harm than good. When done right, wow, it works. Talking to someone you trust in a safe place who isn't going to say the wrong thing or try to fix you on the spot helps when there is not a professional available. Some are too reluctant to seek professional help because it has been reported that others in the unit have no clue what PTSD is all about and pass judgment. Imagine having to talk to someone you heard belittle what you are going through when talking about someone else. They are the last person you'd want to open up to.
If the military trains someone in each unit with a basic understanding of what PTSD is, they can fill in the gaps. This will eliminate others from having the wrong idea of what PTSD is.
The Pentagon has spent over $4 billion on mental health between 2007 and 2012 but as we've seen already the numbers are not good. Part of the problem has been experts like this.
People have the wrong idea about feelings when it comes to the military folks and responders. If they didn't care, they wouldn't be doing the jobs they do. If they didn't care, they wouldn't be willing to die for one another or for us.
Back home in the states, we need to repeat what works and stop pushing what has failed. It isn't as if this stuff is new as you can see from above, but too few are working on what has succeeded and that includes congress.
Congress needs to start holding hearings and listening to veterans along with family members talking about what worked instead of only listening to the problems we face. The answers are out there but if they do not look for them, we'll repeat burials that didn't need to happen.
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 1, 2013
Suicide Prevention month begins today but as we've seen in the past, it has done little good before. We need to start with a fresh look at something we just don't talk enough about. What works to prevent suicides instead of what doesn't. As you read the numbers below keep in mind there are hundreds of attempted suicides and many of them trying more than once. This also comes after the crisis hotline has taken in thousands of call.
"The Army, by far the largest of the military services, had the highest number of suicides among active-duty troops last year at 182, but the Marine Corps, whose suicide numbers had declined for two years, had the largest percentage increase – a 50 percent jump to 48. The Marines' worst year was 2009's 52 suicides. The Air Force recorded 59 suicides, up 16 percent from the previous year, and the Navy had 60, up 15 percent." At least that is what all the major news publications were reporting however, they left out the National Guards and Reservists.
The latest report from the DOD on Army suicides says "CY 2012: 185 169 have been confirmed as suicides and 16 remain under investigation but the report also includes "CY 2012: 140 93 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve." When you add the totals together there were 492 military suicides along with over 8,000 veterans.
We need to begin with honesty. If we ignore what the truth is, then we will repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
Today is a good time to also focus on what the military got right since I am alway slamming what they got wrong producing more suicides after all these years. This isn't a hopeless situation unless they admit the have been mislead on the programs they have been pushing. There is no way to spin the results no matter how hard they try. Telling reporters that most had not been deployed doesn't work because that would mean their mental health evaluations on recruits are useless as well as their training because if they cannot keep non-combat forces from committing suicide they have zero chance of preventing suicides among combat forces. For what else they got wrong you can read it in The Warrior Saw because when it comes to PTSD, it is not just what they see with their eyes during combat, it is how they see themselves afterwards as well.
What works comes with three parts and the military has what they need already in place. Experts agree that the mind, body and spirit must be treated in order to heal as much as possible.
The military has mental health professionals trained to evaluate and treat servicemen and women. What they lack is specialized training on trauma. Without this training they do the same thing other psychiatrists and psychologist do, misdiagnose Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as something else. The only way to get PTSD is after trauma but it includes so many different things that if they are not looking for PTSD, they will find another illness instead. The answer is to train them on trauma. The best Psychologists and Psychiatrists are not only trained, they are veterans as well so they are able to not just understand but share common experiences.
Some of the best training for me was between 2008 and 2010 when I went to just about every class within traveling distance for Crisis Intervention focusing on the responders to traumatic events because as they care for the survivors, they need even more care due to how many times they are exposed to events as part of their jobs.
They also need to have sexual trauma experts to treat the men and women victimized by criminal acts against them. It has been proven that PTSD occurs after this assault but when you add in the fact the perpetrators are one of their own, one they would have trusted with their lives in combat, this is harder to heal from.
Then the military needs to utilize physical trainers to focus on teaching the troops to help their bodies calm down again when no longer in danger. After all, they taught the troops how to use muscles they didn't even know they had in training, they also need to help them adapt back again.
The military has in place Chaplains. These Chaplains need to be trained as well in the basics of trauma intervention. Once this is done they have a tool to help them focus more on healing and less on judging. Too often a soldier has turned to the Chaplains for the moral injury only to be told they are going to hell. Chaplains are just as vital in all of this as any of the other experts.
If the military uses the best they have in the right way, you'll see less suicides and whole lot more healing.
Here are some resources to help you understand what I am talking about.
The International Fellowship of Chaplains. I had this training in 2008 with Dr. David Vorce. "Chaplain Vorce is a proud father of six (6) children, a former U.S. Marine, a psychiatric nurse, and a retired Lieutenant with the Saginaw County Sheriffs Department where he served in the Special Operations Division. He also has 20 years as a Police Chaplain and nearly 36 years as a martial arts instructor. Doctor Vorce has a Doctor of Education Degree, a Masters Degree in Counseling, a Bachelors Degree in Biblical Studies, and is FBI certified in the areas of Critical Incident Stress (CIS), Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CIDS), Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), Grief and Loss and Chaplaincy."
Another training in 2009 was with Center for Disaster and Extreme Event Preparedness. "The Center for Disaster & Extreme Event Preparedness (DEEP Center) conducts training, research, and service in the areas of disaster behavioral health, special populations preparedness, and disaster epidemiology.
DEEP Center is a leading provider of disaster behavioral health training worldwide. Since 2003, DEEP Center has conducted more than 500 full-day, live lecture training programs to a cumulative audience of more than 20,000 participants across the United States, Canada and Latin America.
DEEP Center Mission
Applying disaster science and training to maximize well-being and resilience for disaster responders and survivors.
DEEP Center is home to the Miami Center for Public Health Preparedness (Miami CPHP) which focuses on special populations in disasters, with specific emphasis on disaster training for Hispanic populations.
Miami CPHP Mission
Disaster preparedness for all cultures. Cultural competence for all responders."
Spiritually there is none better than Point Man International Ministries. I am proud to be part of this group especially when they have been working on the spiritual part of healing since 1984.
Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.
However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.
PMIM is run by veterans from all conflicts, nationalities and backgrounds. Although, the primary focus of Point Man has always been to offer spiritual healing from PTSD, Point Man today is involved in group meetings, publishing, hospital visits, conferences, supplying speakers for churches and veteran groups, welcome home projects and community support. Just about any where there are Vets there is a Point Man presence. All services offered by Point Man are free of charge.
We talk a lot about Peer support but when done wrong, it can do more harm than good. When done right, wow, it works. Talking to someone you trust in a safe place who isn't going to say the wrong thing or try to fix you on the spot helps when there is not a professional available. Some are too reluctant to seek professional help because it has been reported that others in the unit have no clue what PTSD is all about and pass judgment. Imagine having to talk to someone you heard belittle what you are going through when talking about someone else. They are the last person you'd want to open up to.
If the military trains someone in each unit with a basic understanding of what PTSD is, they can fill in the gaps. This will eliminate others from having the wrong idea of what PTSD is.
The Pentagon has spent over $4 billion on mental health between 2007 and 2012 but as we've seen already the numbers are not good. Part of the problem has been experts like this.
"Tania Glenn, who has a doctorate in psychology and is a licensed clinical social worker, delivered a feelings-free, scientific analysis of the human body's physiological response to high-stress situations during a briefing Aug. 5, to help Airmen here understand their biological processes downrange.Reading this caused me to leave this comment.
Though based out of Austin, Texas, Glenn travels cross-country providing respite to service men and women who bear the physical and emotional scars that accompany more than a decade of war. Though she is an accomplished psychologist, Glenn is clear on one point: the "F-word:" Feelings. Feelings shall be referred to most sparingly and only when completely necessary, she said."
"I'm a boots-on-the-ground kind of person and we don't use the F-word," she joked. "I talk about the brain and the body and what happens during trauma and stress. These reactions have nothing to do with feelings, they're about survival. I work every day to help men and women recover from trauma and PTSD because if there's one thing I can't stand, it's seeing warriors suffer."
Not part of the answer but part of the problem. Just as doing a study in rats to "prevent PTSD" when emotions are left out of it when we're talking about military folks, that is a huge mistake. Being willing to die for someone else is tied to the emotional part of the brain, not the animal part they always seem to talk about.She replied.
Thank you so much for your comments. I think something was lost in translation from my presentation to the article. In no way do I ever discount the very strong emotions that come with trauma. My point was that clinicians must know how to navigate this area very carefully, especially with military members. The fall back questions like "How do you feel?" or "How did that make you feel?" really anger hard charging, high functioning warriors.
People have the wrong idea about feelings when it comes to the military folks and responders. If they didn't care, they wouldn't be doing the jobs they do. If they didn't care, they wouldn't be willing to die for one another or for us.
Back home in the states, we need to repeat what works and stop pushing what has failed. It isn't as if this stuff is new as you can see from above, but too few are working on what has succeeded and that includes congress.
Congress needs to start holding hearings and listening to veterans along with family members talking about what worked instead of only listening to the problems we face. The answers are out there but if they do not look for them, we'll repeat burials that didn't need to happen.
Oxford diner protest turns into PTSD Awareness Event
There are so many times when a community comes together in support of a veteran that becomes priceless examples of love and appreciation for them. This is one of them. When the story of an Air Force veteran with PTSD, James Glaser was treated like crap by the owner of a diner the story went viral on the net. People may not take much interest on a daily basis to what is going on but mess with a veteran and they show up.
In this case between August 25 and yesterday the owner of the diner has been educated on PTSD enough to apologize and a protest against the diner turned into a PTSD Awareness Event with 300 showing up.
How cool is this story!
In this case between August 25 and yesterday the owner of the diner has been educated on PTSD enough to apologize and a protest against the diner turned into a PTSD Awareness Event with 300 showing up.
How cool is this story!
Oxford diner debate ends in harmony
RALLY DRAWS 300; FOCUS ON PTSD
Telegram and Gazette
Shun Sutner
August 31, 2013
OXFORD — This story had an improbably happy ending.
The rally gets under way at Greenbrier Recreation Area. (T and G Staff/TOM RETTIG)
Two former antagonists —the Air Force veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder and the Oxford diner owner who booted him and his service dog out of his establishment — apologized to one another and hugged before a crowd of some 300 at a rally this morning.
The gathering at the Greenbrier Recreation Area on Route 12 had originally been billed as a protest boycott of Russell Ireland's "Big I" restaurant after his run-in with veteran James Glaser went viral on the Internet.
But it morphed earlier this week into a PTSD awareness event, and, as it turned out, a moment of unexpected reconciliation.
"I accept your apology and I apologize for hurting your establishment," Mr. Glaser, the veteran, said, turning toward Mr. Ireland as the diner proprietor petted the scruffy head of Mr. Glaser's trained Jack Russell terrier, "Jack."
For his part, Mr. Ireland, who initially had been skeptical of Jack's service dog status, asked the veterans for, and for the most part received, forgiveness.
read more here
Another PTSD veteran kicked out for having a service dog
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Taking the D out of PTSD but not the way you think
Taking the D out of PTSD but not the way you think
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 31, 2013
This is what the military tells them
Punitive Articles of the UCMJ Article 134—General article
But this is what disorder means when part of Post Traumatic Stress
Medal of Honor Recipient Ty Carter Says Drop the ‘D’ from PTSD. Carter addresses stigmas associated with PTSD on 'Morning Joe' but think about what else still going on. The stigma is still alive and strong while too many are not alive and more are not feeling so strong about seeking help.
I'll give away the date of this report below.
This goes to show that as for providing the troops with awareness of what PTSD is, they have not done their job. As for taking the "D" out of PTSD, we need to start taking the "dumb" out of how the military views it and then the letter won't matter as much. The label has been changed far too many times already and as we've seen by the results, didn't do any good before.
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 31, 2013
This is what the military tells them
Punitive Articles of the UCMJ Article 134—General article
“Though not specifically mentioned in this chapter, all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a general, special, or summary court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished at the discretion of that court.”
But this is what disorder means when part of Post Traumatic Stress
Definition of DISORDER
1: to disturb the order of
2: to disturb the regular or normal functions of
Medal of Honor Recipient Ty Carter Says Drop the ‘D’ from PTSD. Carter addresses stigmas associated with PTSD on 'Morning Joe' but think about what else still going on. The stigma is still alive and strong while too many are not alive and more are not feeling so strong about seeking help.
I'll give away the date of this report below.
Army fights stigma of mental care By ROBERT H. REID – 2 hours agoThis wasn't last week last month or even last year. It was in 2009. The same year Ty's heroic efforts saved lives.
BAGHDAD (AP) — A military culture that values strength and a "can do" spirit is discouraging thousands of soldiers from seeking help to heal the emotional scars of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite top-level efforts to overcome the stigma, commanders and veterans say.
Up to one-fifth of the more than 1.7 million military members who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan are believed to have symptoms of anxiety, depression and other emotional problems. Some studies show that about half of those who need help do not seek it.
"It's a reality that for some — certainly not all, but for some — there's a stigma to stepping forward for behavioral health," Maj. David Cabrera, who runs counseling services at a military hospital in Germany, told The Associated Press.
"Our goal is to eradicate the stigma," he said. "We're not there yet."
Encouraging more soldiers to seek help, and training leaders to spot signs of trouble, have taken on new urgency since the fatal shooting last Monday of five U.S. service members at a counseling center at Baghdad's Camp Liberty.
Army Sgt. John M. Russell has been charged with five counts of murder. He was finishing his third tour in Iraq and had been ordered to seek counseling at the center, the Army said.
Sergeants on their third or fourth assignments to Iraq or Afghanistan are more than twice as likely to suffer mental health problems as those on their first assignment to a combat zone, according an Army study last year.
Specialist Ty M. Carter distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Scout with Bravo Troop, 3d Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, during combat operations against an armed enemy in Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on October 3, 2009
This goes to show that as for providing the troops with awareness of what PTSD is, they have not done their job. As for taking the "D" out of PTSD, we need to start taking the "dumb" out of how the military views it and then the letter won't matter as much. The label has been changed far too many times already and as we've seen by the results, didn't do any good before.
PTSD veteran sues after being set on fire in VA operating room
“They Set Me on Fire”
Lawyers and Settlements
By Brenda Craig
August 31, 2013
Stafford, WV: American military vet Steven Anthony was already living a life compromised by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when he was suffered another blow to his already fragile mind at a Veteran’s hospital in Martinsburg, Virginia. Steven became a victim of veteran medical malpractice.
Several months ago, Anthony was admitted for some routine surgery. The plan was to give Anthony a general anesthetic for knee surgery, and while he was in the operating room, remove a lesion on his forehead.
“As I lay on the operating table, my mind was telling me I was getting hot. I woke up to see flames all around me,” says Anthony. “I reached up and pulled fire from my face.”
The operating room team had been using an electric cauterizing device to control bleeding during the removal of the lesion. It ignited Anthony’s oxygen supply and caused the cotton gauze around his face to catch fire.
“Everyone else backed off and Steven burnt his hands as he tore the burning material from his face,” says his attorney Anthony Williams, who is a former marine and judge advocate, and has represented members of the military on a variety of issues. “He suffered some superficial burns on his face and hands but the real issue aggravated his PTSD.”
read more here
Lawyers and Settlements
By Brenda Craig
August 31, 2013
Stafford, WV: American military vet Steven Anthony was already living a life compromised by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when he was suffered another blow to his already fragile mind at a Veteran’s hospital in Martinsburg, Virginia. Steven became a victim of veteran medical malpractice.
Several months ago, Anthony was admitted for some routine surgery. The plan was to give Anthony a general anesthetic for knee surgery, and while he was in the operating room, remove a lesion on his forehead.
“As I lay on the operating table, my mind was telling me I was getting hot. I woke up to see flames all around me,” says Anthony. “I reached up and pulled fire from my face.”
The operating room team had been using an electric cauterizing device to control bleeding during the removal of the lesion. It ignited Anthony’s oxygen supply and caused the cotton gauze around his face to catch fire.
“Everyone else backed off and Steven burnt his hands as he tore the burning material from his face,” says his attorney Anthony Williams, who is a former marine and judge advocate, and has represented members of the military on a variety of issues. “He suffered some superficial burns on his face and hands but the real issue aggravated his PTSD.”
read more here
Suicides and Combat: Who to believe?
Suicides and Combat: Who to believe?
Statesman.com
By Jeremy Schwartz
Aug. 30, 2013
Earlier this month, a much publicized Department of Defense study loudly proclaimed that there is no link between wartime deployments or combat and the sharp increase in military suicides since 2005. Instead, the authors blame an apparent increase in mental disorders among U.S. service members -- disorders stemming not from combat, but from “indirect cumulative occupational stresses across both deployed and home-station environments over years of war.”
On closer examination, the study has some obvious limitations. It studied service members between 2001 and 2008; for the beginning of that time period few of those who died of suicide would have deployed to war (troop levels were low in the first years of the war in Afghanistan and the Iraq war didn't begin until 2003). And despite making much of the fact that the study included 151,560 current and former military personnel, it analyzed just 83 suicides.
The study was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, and careful readers of the publication can be excused for being thoroughly confused on the issue of military suicide. Just two months earlier the journal published another study that concluded that traumatic brain injuries – the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts – are indeed associated with a greater risk of suicide and that the suicide risk increases with the number of brain injuries sustained by service members.
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My comment
This got me thinking about all the stuff that keeps happening. Not even touching the suicides back here, the obvious is what has been happening all along. They are using muskets against tanks.
Military suicide research nothing more than pure bullshit! Can I prove it? The research proves it but after all these years what proves it even more are the questions not being asked.
In 2009 this report came out.
According to the latest suicide report from the Army there were 185 suicides in the Army plus 93 National Guardsmen and 47 Army Reservists in 2012. For 2013 as of the end of July there were 94 suicides in the Army, 58 National Guardsmen and 32 Army Reservists.
So they went from 128 in 2009 to 325 in 2012 after spending billions a year on "preventing" them.
Obvious question: Since the number of suicides went up what is wrong with the training that has been pushed all these years to prevent them?
There are over 900 suicide prevention programs!
The DOD claims most commit suicide without being deployed (as stated above) but the DOD has been clueless on what to do about military suicides and PTSD. Expecting them to be able to un-break soldiers is ridiculous because their job has been to break them down to train them for combat. It is in the DNA of the DOD.
Obvious question: Why hasn't the DOD been able to figure out what they have been doing, paying for and pushing has not worked?
Battlefield medicine has advanced so far there are several quadruple amputees along with single and double amputees.
Obvious question: Why hasn't mental health advanced a fraction of the way? Had the DOD received faulty weapons, the contracts would have been canceled however they do not seem willing to cancel contracts and funding for providers of their programs despite massive failures.
We know that billions have been spent on these failures but we don't know who is going to be held accountable for them. We know that the DOD shows no sign of changing what they do but we don't know why they refuse to acknowledge any of this.
The last obvious question: If they commit suicide without being deployed into combat, how lousy is the resilience training they can't even keep them alive here?
Statesman.com
By Jeremy Schwartz
Aug. 30, 2013
Earlier this month, a much publicized Department of Defense study loudly proclaimed that there is no link between wartime deployments or combat and the sharp increase in military suicides since 2005. Instead, the authors blame an apparent increase in mental disorders among U.S. service members -- disorders stemming not from combat, but from “indirect cumulative occupational stresses across both deployed and home-station environments over years of war.”
On closer examination, the study has some obvious limitations. It studied service members between 2001 and 2008; for the beginning of that time period few of those who died of suicide would have deployed to war (troop levels were low in the first years of the war in Afghanistan and the Iraq war didn't begin until 2003). And despite making much of the fact that the study included 151,560 current and former military personnel, it analyzed just 83 suicides.
The study was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, and careful readers of the publication can be excused for being thoroughly confused on the issue of military suicide. Just two months earlier the journal published another study that concluded that traumatic brain injuries – the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts – are indeed associated with a greater risk of suicide and that the suicide risk increases with the number of brain injuries sustained by service members.
read more here
My comment
Thank you is not enough to say for writing this. The DOD wants us to believe combat has nothing to do with the suicides but no one ever asks them to explain things.
The most obvious question is "If they were not deployed but committed suicide, what is wrong with the mental health evaluations they give to recruits?" No one asks that or when they discharged troops with "personality disorders" instead of treating them. They don't talk about hazing, sexual assaults or training itself being traumatic. They don't talk about or have to account for the rise in OEF OIF veterans killing themselves after discharge even though their "resilience training" were part of what they had. They also don't want to talk about attempted suicides.
The DOD Suicide Event Report for 2012 has still not been released. For 2011 there were over 900 suicide attempts. Again, they don't have an answer for them or the fact 2012 was the deadliest year on record. So thank you very much for not being part of the problem. Truth is always part of the solution.
This got me thinking about all the stuff that keeps happening. Not even touching the suicides back here, the obvious is what has been happening all along. They are using muskets against tanks.
In 2009 this report came out.
Officials: Army suicides at 3-decade highObvious question: Since this happened right when the "resilience training" started, how did it get worse after this "record high" was reported?
The Associated Press
By PAULINE JELINEK – 1 hour ago
January 29, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense officials say suicide among U.S. soldiers increased again last year and is at a nearly three-decade high.
The Army plans to announce figures later Thursday, but senior officials told The Associated Press that at least 128 soldiers killed themselves last year.
According to the latest suicide report from the Army there were 185 suicides in the Army plus 93 National Guardsmen and 47 Army Reservists in 2012. For 2013 as of the end of July there were 94 suicides in the Army, 58 National Guardsmen and 32 Army Reservists.
So they went from 128 in 2009 to 325 in 2012 after spending billions a year on "preventing" them.
Obvious question: Since the number of suicides went up what is wrong with the training that has been pushed all these years to prevent them?
There are over 900 suicide prevention programs!
The survey by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America were based on about 4,000 veterans who responded to a survey the association sent to its 120,000 members in February. About a third of respondents said they had considered taking their own life at some point. A slightly larger percentage said they knew someone who had committed suicide. Forty-five percent say they know an Iraq or Afghanistan veteran who has attempted suicide. Two-thirds say they have veteran friends who need mental health counseling.
The DOD claims most commit suicide without being deployed (as stated above) but the DOD has been clueless on what to do about military suicides and PTSD. Expecting them to be able to un-break soldiers is ridiculous because their job has been to break them down to train them for combat. It is in the DNA of the DOD.
Obvious question: Why hasn't the DOD been able to figure out what they have been doing, paying for and pushing has not worked?
Battlefield medicine has advanced so far there are several quadruple amputees along with single and double amputees.
Obvious question: Why hasn't mental health advanced a fraction of the way? Had the DOD received faulty weapons, the contracts would have been canceled however they do not seem willing to cancel contracts and funding for providers of their programs despite massive failures.
We know that billions have been spent on these failures but we don't know who is going to be held accountable for them. We know that the DOD shows no sign of changing what they do but we don't know why they refuse to acknowledge any of this.
The last obvious question: If they commit suicide without being deployed into combat, how lousy is the resilience training they can't even keep them alive here?
Police Officer, OEF OIF veteran wins judgement after disgraceful treatment
Jury awards former West Palm Beach officer, fired on PTSD rumors, $880,000
Palm Beach Post
By Jane Musgrave
Staff Writer
August 30, 2013
WEST PALM BEACH — For three years, Matthew Ladd insisted that his military service in Iraq and Afghanistan shouldn’t have disqualified him from the ranks of the city’s police force.
Late Friday, a Palm Beach County jury agreed, ordering West Palm Beach to pay the 28-year-old Army veteran $880,000 for firing him on the basis of rumors that he had post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I’m stunned,” Ladd said shortly after the verdict was announced. “I’ve just been so stressed out about this case. Finally, I can get some sleep. My wife can get some sleep.”
His attorney Sid Garcia said Ladd was the victim of “malicious gossips” who lied about the trauma the rookie officer suffered while serving in the Middle East. They ultimately persuaded then-Police Chief Delsa Bush that Ladd was a danger to himself and others even though a psychiatrist who examined the rookie officer at the request of police brass found no evidence of mental distress and declared him fit for duty.
“Former Chief Bush did not take time to treat him like a human being,” Garcia said. Instead of believing the doctor, he said, she believed a vicious memo a sergeant wrote, claiming Ladd was mentally ill.
read more here
Palm Beach Post
By Jane Musgrave
Staff Writer
August 30, 2013
WEST PALM BEACH — For three years, Matthew Ladd insisted that his military service in Iraq and Afghanistan shouldn’t have disqualified him from the ranks of the city’s police force.
Late Friday, a Palm Beach County jury agreed, ordering West Palm Beach to pay the 28-year-old Army veteran $880,000 for firing him on the basis of rumors that he had post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I’m stunned,” Ladd said shortly after the verdict was announced. “I’ve just been so stressed out about this case. Finally, I can get some sleep. My wife can get some sleep.”
His attorney Sid Garcia said Ladd was the victim of “malicious gossips” who lied about the trauma the rookie officer suffered while serving in the Middle East. They ultimately persuaded then-Police Chief Delsa Bush that Ladd was a danger to himself and others even though a psychiatrist who examined the rookie officer at the request of police brass found no evidence of mental distress and declared him fit for duty.
“Former Chief Bush did not take time to treat him like a human being,” Garcia said. Instead of believing the doctor, he said, she believed a vicious memo a sergeant wrote, claiming Ladd was mentally ill.
read more here
Vietnam Veteran on vacation in Europe informed son killed in Afghanistan
U.S. Soldier Killed In Afghanistan Was Son Of Vietnam Veteran (Video)
KPBS News
By Beth Ford Roth
August 30, 2013
Army Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, 24, died August 28, in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. The young soldier was killed when insurgents attacked his unit with what the Department of Defense reports as "an improvised explosive device, small arms and indirect fire."
Ollis was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light) at Fort Drum in New York.
read more here
KPBS News
By Beth Ford Roth
August 30, 2013
Army Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, 24, died August 28, in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. The young soldier was killed when insurgents attacked his unit with what the Department of Defense reports as "an improvised explosive device, small arms and indirect fire."
Ollis was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light) at Fort Drum in New York.
read more here
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