Obama to award 3 Medals of Honor
Stars and Stripes
By Jennifer Hlad
Published: August 26, 2014
3 minutes ago
President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Honor to two soldiers who served in Vietnam and one who distinguished himself in the battle of Gettysburg, the White House announced Tuesday.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins and Army Spc. 4 Donald P. Sloat will be honored Sept. 15 for their conspicuous gallantry.
Adkins deployed to Vietnam three times. During his second deployment, in March of 1966, he was a sergeant first class with Detachment A-102, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces.
Adkins displayed "extraordinary bravery" during a sustained and vicious attack by the Vietcong from March 9 to March 12, 1966, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala. said in 2013.
Rogers spoke about Adkins' actions in asking Congress to pass a bill allowing the president to award him the Medal of Honor.
Adkins had been recommended by his command for the Medal of Honor but received a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions, which included running through exploding mortar rounds while wounded to drag several of his fellow soldiers to safety, Rogers said.
Adkins retired from the Army after serving 22 years and will travel to Washington from his home in Alabama to receive the medal, the White House said.
Sloat was a machine gunner with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division, when he was killed in Vietnam in 1970.
Sloat’s squad was on a patrol near Hawk Hill Fire Base on Jan. 17, 1970 when one of the soldiers triggered a grenade booby trap in their path, the White House said. Sloat picked up the grenade, intending to throw it away, but realizing it was about to explode, instead used his body to shield three fellow soldiers from the blast, the White House said.
Sloat’s brother, William Sloat of Enid, Oklahoma, will accept the medal on his brother’s behalf.
read more here
Today, President Obama will address the American Legion’s 96th convention and outline the five priorities the Administration is focused on to ensure we are fulfilling our promises to service members, veterans and their families: delivering the quality health care veterans have been promised; ensuring all veterans have every opportunity to pursue the American Dream; providing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the resources our veterans deserve; protecting the dignity and rights of all veterans; and eliminating the decades-old disability claims backlog.
The President will announce 19 new executive actions to serve the military community, including new efforts to strengthen service members’ access to mental health care. The President will also highlight efforts to improve the transition between DoD and VA care for those leaving military service, and improve economic opportunity for our military families with new private-sector commitments that will make it easier to obtain mortgage interest rate reductions and reduced monthly payments – helping more of our troops save money through lower monthly payments. The President will also announce that the Administration is continuing to make significant progress toward reducing the number of veterans who suffer from homelessness. Over the past four years a third of homeless veterans, nearly 25,000, have moved off the streets, out of shelters and into housing. The President will also renew his call for community action -- asking every American to do their part to support our service members, Veterans, and their families.
All of these announcements, including the new executive actions and progress being made on existing efforts, reflect the commitment of the President and his administration to expanding opportunity for those who sacrifice so much to serve our country:our service members, veterans and their families.
Delivering the Health Care Veterans Have Been Promised
Access to Quality VA Healthcare
The President and VA are committed to ensuring that veterans have access to the timely, high-quality health care that they have earned and deserve. Over the last several months, we have seen inexcusable delays in care at some VA health care facilities. We have taken a number of steps already to change the way VA does business to ensure that this never happens again, and we will keep at it as long as it takes.
Improving Access to Care: To improve the access to care for our veterans, VA has taken several initial steps over the last several months, including: Reaching out to over a quarter million veterans to get them off waitlists and into appointments sooner and training or re-training approximately 10,000 schedulers. Additionally, VA has surged resources to the hospitals and clinics that need it most, including Phoenix. This includes deploying mobile clinics, adding more clinic hours, and recruiting additional and temporary staff members to VA medical centers nation-wide.
Accountability: As the President has made clear, those responsible for manipulating or falsifying records at VA must be held accountable. VA established an independent accountability review board to review employee actions and hold them accountable where there is misconduct. VA has proposed action to relieve several employees of their responsibilities; additional investigations continue.
Recruiting the Best Medical Professionals: This week VA will announce that it is launching a new recruiting campaign designed to help attract the best and the brightest medical professionals to work in the VA system, and to fill the shortages in health care workers, including doctors and nurses, at many VA facilities.
Electronic Health Records: Key to helping Veterans and Service members receive better, safer, and more efficient care is modernizing VA and DoD’s Electronic Health Record systems. Today, more than 5.3 million records are jointly accessible and more than 1.5 million pieces of health data are shared daily. By the end of this fiscal year, the Joint Legacy Viewer will be deployed to more DoD medical centers and every VA medical center. This viewer will allow DoD and VA providers to see nearly all of the electronic health records stored in both Departments’ systems, including doctors' notes, problem lists, and inpatient discharge summaries.
New commitment to Transparency: For the first time ever, VA is providing the public with regular, updated information on the timeliness of VA care and will continue to report regularly on quality of care on VA.gov. This is more information than any private hospital in the United States currently provides.
Protections for Whistleblowers: VA has reaffirmed and strengthened its commitment to protections for whistleblowers and the new leadership has been clear that retaliation against, or intimidation of, whistleblowers will not be tolerated. In addition, the VA has been working to achieve compliance with the Office of Special Counsel's whistleblower protection certification program.
Reforming VA: Over the last several months, the Administration has taken action to reform the way VA operates. The 14-day scheduling goal has been removed from employee performance plans, and Secretary McDonald is convening a panel of experts to make recommendations on new standards for access to care. We will also establish a new board of physicians to advise the Secretary on best practices for delivering timely, quality care to our veterans, and to ensure that VA care remains the best care anywhere.
Veterans Mental Health
The President will announce 19 new executive actions to improve the mental health of service members, veterans, and their families, which builds on the progress the Administration has made since the President’s 2012 (Mental Health) Executive Order. In response to the 2012 Executive Order, VA has increased its mental health staffing, expanded the capacity of the Veterans Crisis Line, and enhanced its partnerships with community mental health providers; DoD and VA worked to increase suicide prevention awareness and, DoD, VA and the National Institutes of Health jointly developed the National Research Action Plan on military and veteran’s mental health to better coordinate federal research efforts. The new mental health executive actions will fall under the following six categories:
Improving Service Members’ Transition from DoD to VA and Civilian Health Care Providers: DoD will now be automatically enrolling all service members leaving military service who are receiving care for mental health conditions in the Department’s inTransition program, through which trained mental health professionals help these individuals transition to a new care team in VA. Currently, service members must be specifically referred to inTransition by their DoD provider or seek out the program on their own. Additionally, VA will implement a new policy to ensure that recently discharged service members enrolling in the VA health care system maintain accessto mental health medication prescribed by an authorized DoD provider regardless of whether the medication is currently on VA’s formulary, unless the health care provider identifies a specific safety or clinical reason to make a change.
Improving Access and Quality of Mental Health Care at DoD and VA: VA will pilot the expansion of mental health peer support to veterans being treated in primary care settings. In addition, DoD has initiated action to do what they can under its authority and will continue to work with Congress to take action to bring TRICARE, DoD’s health care coverage, up to full mental health and substance use disorder parity, meaning benefits for these conditions are generally on par with benefits for medical/surgical conditions.
Continuing our Commitment to Improve Treatments for Mental Health Conditions including PTSD. In support of the National Research Action Plan on military and veteran’s mental health, the DoD and the National Institutes of Health are launching a longitudinal project focused on the early detection of suicidality, PTSD, and long term effects of TBI, and other related issues in service members and veterans. VA is launching a $34.4 million suicide prevention study involving 1800 veterans at 29 VA hospitals. In support of the President’s BRAIN Initiative, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is announcing a new $78.9 million research program to develop minimally-invasive neurotechnologies that may help treat many diseases, including PTSD. In addition, the White House announced that this fall it will host the White House BRAIN conference, including a focus on PTSD and TBI.
Raising Awareness About Mental Health and Encouraging Individuals to Seek Help: VA and DoD are expanding their suicide prevention and mental health training for healthcare providers, chaplains, and employees who work directly with veterans.
Improving Patient Safety and Suicide Prevention: VA and DoD are taking action to provide new opportunities for servicemembers, veterans, and their families to give back unwanted medications, and thereby help reduce the opportunities for abuse. The Departments are also taking action to encourage firearm safety and reduce the risk of overdose.
Strengthening Community Resources for Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families: While all individuals can experience mental health conditions, service members, veterans, and their families may experience stressors unique to their time in the military. Understanding military culture and the experiences of service members and their families can help community providers best serve these individuals. DoD and VA will disseminate its existing military cultural competency training to 3,000 community mental health providers during FY 2015.
For the full list of executive actions, click HERE.
HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS ANSWER THE PRESIDENT’S CALL TO ACTION
The American Nurses Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association, is launching an innovative web-based PTSD Toolkit for registered nurses – all 3.1 million of them. The toolkit provides easy to access information and simulation based on gaming techniques on how to identify, assess and refer veterans suffering from PTSD. www.nurseptsdtoolkit.org
In collaboration with First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forcesinitiative, the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) along with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), Give an Hour, and many others will collaborate to deliver “Joining Forces Wellness Week 2014.” The week-long series of educational topics and programs will occur around Veterans Day. The cornerstone event will be a webinar focusing on military cultural competency, taking a military health history, generational differences in veterans, unique needs of guard and reserve personnel, and the needs of parents and family members of veterans.
Ensuring All Service Members Have Every Opportunity to Pursue the American Dream
President Obama will announce a new voluntary partnership with financial lenders across the country that will help deliver important financial and home loan-related protections to our military community. Congress passed the Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) in 2003 to provide protections for military members as they enter active duty. Our Service women and men have earned important financial protections under the law, but too many do not exercise these important rights. But when business and government work together we can make a difference.
Banks and Mortgage Servicers Answer the President’s Call to Action: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., CitiMortgage, Inc., Bank of America, N.A., Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, and Quicken Loans are partnering with the Administration to make it easier than ever for active duty service members to obtain mortgage interest rate reductions and reduce their monthly payments. The partnership cuts red tape where possible and establishes concrete steps to reduce the burden on service members by having participating mortgage servicers proactively identify, notify and assist in enrolling eligible service members.
Key Provisions of the Partnership
Proactive Identification of Active Duty Service Members: Under the partnership, participating servicers will proactively identify active duty personnel no less than once a quarter by querying the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), a searchable database of individuals who were or on Title 10 active duty status, against their loan portfolio, reducing the burden on the service member.
Proactive Outreach to Eligible Service Members: Participating mortgage servicers will proactively reach out to individuals that have been identified as being eligible for benefits under SCRA to notify them of their benefits. Servicers will leverage multiple marketing and communication tactics including telephone, mail, e-mail, or other reasonable forms of communication.
Simplify the Application Process: Participating mortgage servicers will work together to ease the burden of enrollment and satisfaction of the SCRA written notice requirement.
Ensure Active-Duty Military Get the Student Debt Relief They Are Entitled to: In addition to the Administration’s efforts to work with banks and mortgage servicers to ensure service members have access to the benefits they are eligible under the SCRA, the Department of Education has directed its federal student loan servicers to match their student borrower portfolios against DoD’s database to identify active-duty service members who are eligible to cap interest rates on student loans – including federal student loans -- at 6 percent and to reduce those interest rates automatically for those eligible without the need for additional paperwork. This week, the Department released additional guidance to encourage Federal Education Loan program servicers to provide for a similar streamlined process.
Ensuring Veterans Have Access to a Quality Education
Principles of Excellence: Making good on our commitment to support Student veterans, President Obama will announce that this week, VA will launch an updated version of the GI Bill® Comparison Tool and that nearly 6,000 education institutions are now meeting the goals set out in the “Principles of Excellence” (POE) Executive Order. POE ensures schools are providing meaningful cost and quality information, preventing deceptive recruiting practices, and providing high-quality academic and student support services. We know through the work of organizations like the American Council on Education, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, and Student Veterans of America that a successful student veteran is an informed student veteran. The Comparison Tool leverages many of the lessons learned from these organizations and others and makes it easier to calculate GI Bill® benefits and provides key information about college affordability and value so beneficiaries can choose the best education program to meet their needs. Since its launch in February 2014, there have been over 350,000 unique visitors to the tool. (benefits.va.gov/gibill/comparison)
Operation Educate the Educators and the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children: Through First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative, all 50 States have now signed on to “Educate the Educators” with over 100 institutions of higher education committed to help train future teachers for the unique needs of military students. 50 States have also signed on to participate in the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children that helps provide consistent policies across school districts and states to help ease the transition for military connected students.
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES ANSWER THE PRESIDENT’S CALL TO ACTION
The President will announce that commitments to the 8 Keys to Veterans Success on Campus have increased to more than 1,000 community colleges and university campuses and he called on more educational institutions to join this effort. Last year, the President challenged to educational institutions to adopt best practices supporting educational success and fostering postsecondary educational opportunities for veterans. At that time, only 250 community colleges and universities had signed up.
Ensuring Veterans Have Access to Good-Paying Jobs
Economic Communities of Interest: The Administration is announcing that VA has developed specific campaign plans in 20 communities where public/private partnerships can make a significant difference in the lives of our transitioning service members, veterans and their families. These community based campaigns will last for two years and will promote awareness and use of education benefits and build veteran skill sets by expanding VA’s existing partnerships with the Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Veteran Service Organizations and federal agencies. Each campaign will kick off with a two-day hiring summit.
Making it Easier for Qualified Service Members to Earn a Commercial Driver’s License: Thanks to the local community based efforts of many, including our Veteran and Military Family Service Organizations like the American Legion and others, for the first time all 50 States and the District of Columbia, now waive the skills test for qualified service members and veterans applying for a State Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). For four years, the Administration has worked state-by-state, partnering with DoD, DoT, other Federal agencies and outside stakeholders to make it easier for military truck drivers to earn a CDL. The waiver process saves the CDL applicant time and money, making it easier to transfer the skills learned in the military to civilian life and a job. To date more than 6,000 service personnel have taken advantage of the Skills Test Waiver.
Veterans Employment Center: Earlier this year, the Administration announced the Veterans Employment Center, the first government-wide effort that brings together public and private employers with real job opportunities, and provides the military community with the tools to translate their military skills into plain language and build a profile that can be shared – in real time – with employers who have made a public commitment to hire veterans. The VEC lists over 1.5 million private and public sector jobs and consolidates over a dozen redundant sites. Employers have made commitments to hire over 150,000 individuals from the military community. The site averages over 50,000 users daily.
Veteran and Military Spouse Employment: Through the Administration’s Joining Forces initiative, businesses have trained or hired more than 540,000 veterans and military spouses. Furthermore, over 64,000 military spouses have been hired with 224 private- and public-sector partners since the program began three years ago. In addition, 48 States have removed credentialing impediments for separating service members and another 47 States are facilitating military spouse transition and licensure portability.
EMPLOYERS ANSWER THE PRESIDENT’S CALL TO ACTION
The President has emphasized the important role employers play in increasing economic opportunity for veterans through stable employment opportunities—not just because it’s good for veterans but because it’s good for the bottom line. He is calling for more employers and educational institutions to take on innovative veteran training partnerships. For example, corporate leaders like Blackstone have made veteran hiring a priority. Together with their portfolio company, Hilton Worldwide, they are partnering with Kendall College to develop a hotel management education and training program to provide transitioning service members and veterans on-the-job experience and an inside track to available jobs upon graduation from the program. All of this is bolstered by the veteran’s use of their GI Bill® benefits.
Protecting the Dignity and Rights of All Veterans
Ending Veteran Homelessness: President Obama will announce that the number of veterans who suffer from homelessness has dropped by a third over the past four years as nearly 25,000 veterans have moved into housing. This announcement follows the First Lady’s event in June, with HUD and VA, announcing the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness. Through this Challenge, mayors, county executives, and governors are signing on to end veteran homelessness in their communities in 2015. To date, over 200 communities have signed on.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS ANSWER THE PRESIDENT’S CALL TO ACTION
There are over 4,000 homeless women veterans in our country today. These women veterans struggle to find employment and short and long-term housing, and subsequently may be faced with the unthinkable possibility of losing their children. The VA has entered into a public-private partnership with TriWest Healthcare Alliance to connect women veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, especially those with children, to the services and benefits that lead to employment. This effort will initially focus on five cities: Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; and Honolulu, HI. Partnerships in each city will be established among community leaders, employers, government and non-government organizations, and committed citizens who can work together, individually and collectively to help reduce barriers to employment for homeless women veterans and connect them with employment. The President will call for more public-private partnerships to help end veteran homelessness.
Two years ago, The National Guard Bureau announced their own community based effort last year, and launched Joining Community Forces to leverage their local community foot-print and family support centers to connect Guardsmen and Reservists of all services, Veterans and military families to local community based resources. They are re-doubling their efforts, and are challenging all 54 Guard Bureaus in that effort.
Ensuring that Veterans Affairs Has the Resources to Serve Our Veterans
On August 7, 2014, the President signed into law the bipartisan Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014. At a time of crisis, our Veteran and Military Family Service Organizations called the country and Congress to action. This legislation provides VA with additional resources to improve access and quality of care for Veterans. This law will help VA hire more doctors, nurses and other medical staff, as well as to provide needed additional space and modernize VA’s hospitals and clinics. It authorizes the new Veterans Choice program, which allows eligible Veterans to choose to use non-VA care when they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility or cannot be seen by a VA doctor within a reasonable amount of time. And finally, the law will give Secretary McDonald more authority to hold senior VA leaders accountable.
Ending the Disability Claims Backlog
Disability Claims Backlog Update
Improving quality and reducing the length of time it takes to process disability claims is integral to the Administration's mission of providing the care and benefits that Veterans have earned and deserve in a timely, accurate, and compassionate manner. Through initiatives supported by President Obama, VA has decreased the backlog by more than 50 percent since its peak in March 2013. Continuing this work in 2014, VA is implementing additional changes to the Veterans Benefits Management System to increase automation and integration, system-wide. Thanks to transformation initiatives and the creative and impactful partnerships with our VSOs like the Disabled American Veterans, VFW, The Legion and others, VA is on track to meet the President’s goal and eliminate the claims backlog by completing all claims in 125 days in 2015.
Veterans Affairs says no proof delays caused deaths at hospital
CBS/AP
August 25, 2014
WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs says investigators have found no proof that delays in care caused any deaths at a VA hospital in Phoenix, deflating an explosive allegation that helped expose a troubled health care system in which veterans waited months for appointments while employees falsified records to cover up the delays.
Revelations that as many as 40 veterans died while awaiting care at the Phoenix VA hospital rocked the agency last spring, bringing to light scheduling problems and allegations of misconduct at other hospitals as well. The scandal led to the resignation of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. In July, Congress approved spending an additional $16 billion to help shore up the system. read more here
Marine, war veteran beaten in possible hate crime
WMCAction
News5.com Staff
Posted: Aug 26, 2014
West Point, Miss.
(WMC) - A 32-year-old Marine and Iraq war veteran attacked and beaten in what might be a hate crime.
Investigators say several men jumped Ralph Weems in a parking lot in West Point, Mississippi.
One man is in custody, but West Point Police Chief Tim Brinkley says there were more attackers. His department is developing a list and trying to bring them in for questioning.
The Associated Press reports that Weems' friend and fellow veteran David Knighten says the beating was racially charged.
Knighten says someone outside a Waffle House told him politely that it was not a safe place for whites to be at the moment, because people inside were upset over the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. read more here
Fort Lee has history of soldier killings, suicides
Times Dispatch
Mark Bowes
Richmond Times Dispatch
August 25, 2014
Fort Lee has seen at least four other soldiers commit suicide in the past three years, with two of them collectively killing five other people before fatally shooting themselves.
The soldiers who killed had served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and at least one of them was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from his last deployment.
Three years ago today, Fort Lee Army Capt. Leonard J. Egland, 37, committed one of the worst multiple slayings in Chesterfield in a decade. Police said he fatally shot his estranged wife, Carrie P. Egland, 36; her new boyfriend, Scott T. Allred, 40; and Allred’s 7-year-old son, Morgan, in the Chester home the Eglands had shared before they separated about a year earlier and Egland moved out.
Police said Egland, an 18-year Army veteran who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, then traveled to Pennsylvania, where he fatally shot his estranged wife’s mother, Barbara Reuhl, 66, before dropping off his daughter unharmed at a hospital. Egland then fatally shot himself in Jamison, Pa., after firing at police who tried to stop him. read more here
Local Researchers Take New Approach to Treating PTSD
NPR
Matt Trotter
August 25, 2014
These nightmares tend to stick around a long time. Think of the worst night’s sleep you’ve ever had, then multiply it. By a lot.
"In our clinical trials, the noncombat trials that we’ve done, it’s an average of 16 to 18 years that people have suffered from nightmares multiple times per week," Davis said. "And in our combat study that we did a couple years ago, it was an average of 40 years."
Nearly 8 million Americans suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychologists at a local institute believe they’ve found a better way to treat it, and they have backing from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology in the form of a six-figure grant.
The typical course of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder involves nine to 12 sessions with a therapist.
"And there’s no medications involved. It is an approach that focuses on the way that trauma impacts the way that you think, the way that you behave and the way that you feel," said Joanne Davis, codirector of the Tulsa Institute for Trauma, Abuse and Injustice, and an associate professor of psychology at the University of Tulsa.
She’s launching a study of a two-sided treatment approach for PTSD because traditional therapy helps with functional issues "but nightmares and sleep problems are considered to be the hallmark of posttraumatic stress disorder," Davis said.
"And they’re really looked-at important factors that not only help in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder but also in maintaining it over the long term." read more here
Woman runs 3,400 miles for wounded veterans
By MYFOX NEW YORK STAFF
Posted: Aug 25, 2014
NEW YORK (MYFOXNY)
Long-distance running helped Anna Judd overcome challenges in life and she used that experience to help America's veterans struggling with their own conditions.
Judd completed a 3,400- mile run from Venice, California to Lower Manhattan over five months in an effort to draw awareness to America's wounded soldiers. She arrived in New York City on Saturday afternoon.
"I feel pretty good. I think your body can adjust to anything. It was a huge physical challenge. I wanted to challenge myself to my limitations not just physically but emotionally and make a difference in the world," said Judd.
The veteran suicide rate is 22 a day, added Judd, and the number with psychological and mental health problems including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder is high. read more here
Fort Hood soldier dies in Afghanistan from "non-combat" related incident
ABC News 25
Posted: Aug 25, 2014
FORT HOOD - The Department of Defense has released the name of a Fort Hood soldier who died from a "non-combat" related incident on Friday, August 22 in Gardez, Afghanistan.
According to the Fort Hood Public Affairs Office, Sgt. Christopher Waugh Mulalley, 26, whose home of record is listed as Eureka, California, entered active-duty service in July 2006 as an infantryman.
Circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation. Further details into the incident were not released. read more here
VA touts progress on suicides; data tell another story
USA TODAY
Dennis Wagner
August 25, 2014
But other evidence hints at the magnitude of the crisis. As of June 2012, the national VA Suicide Prevention Line was getting roughly 17,000 calls per month — up more than 17 percent from 2009. Four out of five were veterans seeking help, nearly one-third of them contemplating suicide.
Seven years ago, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rejected allegations by media outlets and watchdog organizations that America faced a suicide epidemic among former military personnel.
The VA claimed just 790 veterans under department care had taken their own lives that year. Yet, by reviewing available public records since 2005, CBS News uncovered 6,256 suicides.
As VA officials publicly disputed the network's data, Dr. Ira Katz, the top mental-health officer, was sending internal e-mails titled "Not for the CBS Interview Request."
"Shh!" Katz wrote in one message. "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities."
When the e-mails were disclosed, confirming the CBS findings, some members of Congress called for Katz's resignation or termination.
Today, Katz remains at VA headquarters as acting director of mental health operations. In a phone interview with The Arizona Republic, he and Caitlin Thompson, deputy director for suicide prevention, said veterans' mental-health care is a national success story that merits a B+ if graded on a curve against other programs. Katz said recent data indicate the suicide rate is increasing among men in the general U.S. population but is stable among VA patients. "We're doing relatively well by fighting this trend," he added. read more here
I made a promise about not writing anything that was not positive on military suicides so I am reserving what I want to say now with this latest report. So here is just a reminder.
Justice Department lawyer Richard Lepley argued Monday that the VA has responded to the unprecedented number of claims, which officials say is being driven by aging Vietnam veterans and other warriors of the Cold War era, by launching a massive new hiring process.
Lepley told the judge that the VA has added more than 3,700 new "mental health physicians" to a mental health professional staff of 17,000 that treats increasing cases if post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological problems in the last year.
"We are staffing up," Lepley said. "We can't do it overnight."
Government lawyers say the VA has been devoting more resources to mental health and making suicide prevention a top priority. They also argue that the courts don't have the authority to tell the department how it should operate.
Earlier in the morning, veterans lawyer Gordon Erspamer told the judge that the VA isn't doing enough, calling for the judge to order a massive overhaul of how the VA processes claims and perhaps hire a "special master" to preside over the agency.
Erspamer cited a RAND Corp. report released last week estimating that 300,000 U.S. troops—about 20 percent of those deployed—are suffering from depression or post-traumatic stress from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Erspamer showed the judge two e-mails written last year among high-ranking officials that said an average of 18 military veterans kill themselves each day—and five of them are under VA care when they commit suicide. Another e-mail said 1,000 veterans under VA care attempt suicide each month.
Veterans and suicide: A national issue with local consequences
St. Cloud Times
Kirsti Marohn and David Unze
August 25, 2014
Almost 19 percent of suicides in Minnesota from 2007-12 were veterans
That's the estimated number of veterans in the United States who died by suicide every day in 2010, according to a February 2012 report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
A St. Cloud Times analysis of state death records found that 686 veterans died by suicide in Minnesota from 2007 to 2012. Almost 19 percent of suicides in Minnesota during those years were veterans, which closely tracks the national numbers.
Veterans also are dying from suicides at a higher rate than the general population, according to the Times analysis.
The average rate of veteran suicides in Minnesota during that six-year period was 30 per 100,000 people, almost double the suicide rate of the overall population of 15.4 per 100,000.
Soldier dies after shooting at Fort Lee
WWBT
Posted: Aug 25, 2014
FORT LEE, VA (WWBT)
Fort Lee officials say a soldier has died after she likely shot herself at the post Monday morning.
The shooting caused the post to be placed on lockdown for around 45 minutes.
Army officials have not released the soldier's identity, but say she is an E7 Sergeant First Class who was deployed to Iraq in 2007 for 15 months in the personnel arena.
The soldier came into the Combined Arms Support Command Headquarters, building 5020 around 8:45 a.m. She went to the third floor of the building armed with a small, concealed handgun. She barricaded herself inside an office and began throwing stuff around the room.
An alert was sounded and officials made occupants take shelter or evacuate as negotiators tried to get the situation to end peacefully. Officials say the soldier turned the gun to her head and fired a single shot. No other injuries were reported.
Special Agents from the US Army Criminal Investigations Command are on scene and investigating.
Officials initially called the incident a 'police emergency' and asked everyone to stay indoors. The installation was locked down and all personnel were asked to enact active shooter protocols.
go here for more
Disturbed female soldier dies after she shoots herself in apparent suicide attempt at Fort Lee in Virginia
The female sergeant died after she barricaded herself in an office at the Combined Arms Support Command and threw things at police who tried to calm her down before firing a single round into her head, a major general at the fort said.
New York Daily News
BY PHILIP CAULFIELD
August 25, 2014
An unhinged female soldier died after she barricaded herself in an office at Fort Lee in Virginia and shot herself in the head on Monday, officials said.
The soldier initially survived the self-inflicted blast, but died after she was taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, officials at the fort said.
The incident at the heavily populated base began at around 9 a.m. when military authorities received alerts about a female soldier with a gun inside building 5020 at the Combined Arms Support Command headquarters.
Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, CASC's commander, said the sergeant 1st class had snapped, barricaded herself in an office with a gun and threw things at authorities trying to talk her down. read more here
There was another suicide tied to Fort Lee in January
Man dead in apparent murder-suicide a soldier, Fort Lee officials say
FROM STAFF REPORTS)
Published: January 15, 2014
FORT LEE - A man suspected of killing his wife and then turning the gun on himself was a decorated Fort Lee soldier who had done several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Terrell D. Davidson, 38, was an Army first sergeant who had deployed to Iraq for three tours and one tour in Afghanistan, according to a statement from Fort Lee officials Tuesday.
Davidson was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the 12000 block of Mason Avenue around 9:15 p.m. Sunday, according to Chesterfield County police. Nearby, police found the body of the solider's wife, Nequia S. Davidson, 39. She died from a gunshot wound, police said.
Terrell Davidson entered active duty service in 1993 as an automated logistical specialist. He arrived at Fort Lee two years ago and served in a staff position as an instructor/writer. In November 2013, he was assigned as the senior noncommissioned officer in a 23rd Quartermaster Brigade training company.
Davidson deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and Iraq in 2003, 2004 and 2008.
His awards and decorations included the Bronze Star medal, five Army Commendation medals, five Army Achievement medals, six Army Good Conduct medals, two National Defense Service medals, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary medal, Global War on Terrorism Service medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbons, Combat Action Badge and Air Assault. read more here
Burglars steal triple amputee's hand movement
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
BY ALIA MALIK
AUGUST 22, 2014
SAN ANTONIO — U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ben Eberle was smoking a cigarette Nov. 19, 2011, in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan when he saw the blue wire.
He took one last drag of his cigarette, knowing what would come the moment the enemy detected his movement. He took off running and the IED exploded.
Eberle threw up his right arm to protect his face from the blast. He lost that hand, and both of his legs.
Almost three years later, Eberle, now 27 and medically retired, smoked a cigarette as he described the overnight burglary that cost him his right hand for the second time.
Eberle awoke sometime after 10 a.m. Friday to the news that someone had smashed the window of his pickup and stolen an iPod Touch out of the center console.
It was no ordinary iPod Touch. The device had an application called i-limb, which Eberle manipulated with the pinky of his prosthetic right hand to achieve a range of movements that otherwise would be impossible with so many damaged nerves. read more here
How and why local police departments get military surplus equipment
Stars and Stripes
By Jon Harper
Published: August 24, 2014
WASHINGTON — After seeing TV footage of the police in Ferguson, Mo., deploying Humvees and brandishing assault rifles in the face of protesters, some Americans are questioning whether local law enforcement agencies should be allowed to acquire military equipment from the Pentagon. A congressional review has been scheduled, with the president’s backing.
But few understand how the Defense Department’s 1033 Program actually works. Even Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel had to ask his staffers this week to explain it to him.
The ongoing controversy raises important questions: Why does the program exist? Why do many police officers believe they need military-grade equipment? And what safeguards are in place to ensure that weapons and vehicles designed for combat zones are used responsibly in towns like Ferguson?
How it came to be
The 1033 Program was an invention of Congress, not the Pentagon. It came into being through the 1990-1991 National Defense Authorization Act, and the program’s original scope was much narrower than it is today. As the federal government’s “war on drugs” escalated, the 1990-1991 NDAA authorized the transfer of excess DOD property to federal and state agencies for use in counterdrug activities. A few years later, the program was broadened considerably to include materiel that could be used for “the execution of law enforcement activities,” to include counterdrug and counterterrorism missions, according to DOD.
The theory behind the initiative was that the military’s unneeded equipment might as well be put to good use, rather than be destroyed or warehoused. read more here
