More lost to suicides tied to military than 13 years of war

Oct 7, 2001:
President Bush announces military action in Afghanistan
History.com
On this day in 2001, less than a month after al-Qaida terrorists flew commercial jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, President George W. Bush announces that American troops are on the offensive in Afghanistan.

The goal of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the mission was dubbed, was to stamp out Afghanistan's Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime, which had aided and abetted al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden, a Saudi national who lived in the Afghan hills and urged his followers to kill Americans.

In a televised address that evening, Bush informed the American public that "carefully targeted actions" were being carried out to crush the military capability of al-Qaida and the Taliban, with help from British, Canadian, Australian, German and French troops. An additional 40 nations around the world provided intelligence, as well as bases from which the operations were conducted.

Bush touted the multinational effort as proof that America, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, was "supported by the collective will of the world." He also warned that the war in Afghanistan would likely be only the first front in a long struggle against terrorism. He vowed to continue to take what he called the "war on terror" to those countries that sponsored, harbored or trained terrorists.

12 Killed in 2001
49 Killed in 2002
48 Killed in 2003
52 Killed in 2004
99 Killed in 2005
98 Killed in 2006
117 Killed in 2007
155 Killed in 2008
317 Killed in 2009
499 Killed in 2010
418 Killed in 2011
310 Killed in 2012
127 Killed in 2013
48 Killed so far in 2014
2,349 Up to this day.
(Source ICasualties.org)

WE

LOST

MORE

VETERANS

THIS

YEAR

TO

SUICIDE

THAN

WE

LOST

13

YEARS

OF

COMBAT

COMBINED

INCLUDING

IRAQ

4,487

TOTAL 6,836
TOTAL SUICIDES 8,030
EST. EVERY YEAR

VA to Continue Town Hall Events at VA Facilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                 

October 8, 2014         

 Secretary McDonald Announces VA to Continue Town Hall Events at VA Facilities Nationwide

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald has directed all Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare and benefits facilities to continue to hold quarterly town-hall events to improve communication with, and hear directly from, Veterans nationwide. This follows the recent completion of town-halls at these facilities held between August and the end of September of this year.

 “Every one of our medical centers and regional benefits offices held town hall meetings around the country in August and September, but we have more listening to do to better serve Veterans and their families,” said Secretary McDonald. 

“As part of our Road to Veterans Day, VA is taking a hard look at everything we do in order to reorganize the Department around the needs of Veterans. Direct feedback from Veterans, employees and stakeholders is an important component of that Roadmap, and key to improving our services and operations,” Secretary McDonald added.

Details of events at each location will be forthcoming from local facilities.  Additionally, VA is looking to continue to improve the town hall notification process, making sure we have the benefit of extensive local input. In addition to Veterans and their families, the quarterly meetings are open to Congressional stakeholders, Veterans Service Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations and other community partners.

Homeless Veteran's Sign Ripped Up on Street Corner

A Man Rips Up A Homeless Veteran’s Sign, What Happens Next Is Amazing [Video]
Magician Rips Up Homeless Mans Sign!


What happens when a man approaches a homeless veteran and rips up his sign? In this viral video uploaded to YouTube, you can see that something endearing and compassionate results.

YouTube star Rob Anderson, a magician known for his street magic, heard about a homeless veteran who was known for extremely kind demeanor and sign encouraging all those who pass him, donation or not, to smile. Anderson wanted to do something special for the homeless veteran so decided to do a little magic with the man’s sign.

The homeless man’s sign read “anything helps.” Anderson used that phrase to create a trick that would shock not only those watching the YouTube video but the homeless veteran as well. Anderson can be seen approaching the man and asking to see his sign. The man reluctantly gives it to him. Anderson pulls out a magic marker and draws some dollar signs on the cardboard. Anderson says, “anything helps, does this help?” The homeless man is confused and says “not really.”
read more here

USO Comedy Tour in Afghanistan

Behind the scenes of Al Roker, Jay Leno's USO comedy tour in Afghanistan
TODAY
Robin Sindler and Molly Palmer
October 8,2014

Fred Greaves The comedy tour crew gears up for a day at the Bagram Airfield.

To join Al in his mission to support the troops, visit his fundraising page at Crowdrise.com/AlRoker, where proceeds will go to support the USO and its programs for our troops and their families.

Al Roker, Jay Leno, Craig Robinson, Iliza Shlesinger and Kevin Eubanks took the stage at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan last Wednesday to perform for more than 1,000 troops as part of the TODAY USO Comedy Tour. Filled with laughs, music and honoring the military, the first-ever TODAY comedy tour was a success.
read more here

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Film on Equine PTSD Therapy Wins Award

Screening of Award-Winning Film "Riding My Way Back"
Atlantic Highlands Herald
Written by MC Park System
Published: 07 October 2014

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Monmouth County Park System and its partner Special People United to Ride (SPUR) is pleased to announce that the Sunnyside Equestrian Center, 628 Middletown-Lincroft Road, Middletown, will host a screening of the award-winning film “Riding My Way Back” on Sunday, November 9 at 3 p.m. This short new documentary tells the powerful story of how therapeutic riding helped a veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury begin to heal. A suggested donation of $5 can be given at the door.

The film chronicles one soldier’s journey back from the brink of suicide. In 2010, Staff Sergeant Aaron Heliker returned from multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). At his most desperate and isolated, on 42 medications and suicidal, Aaron is introduced to the unlikeliest of saviors: a horse named Fred. Through caring for Fred, Aaron begins the difficult process of reconnecting to the world around him and healing the invisible wounds of war that nearly defeated him.
read more here

400,000 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Have Some Form of PTSD

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimates 400,000 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have some form of PTSD.

Mental trauma keeps Iraq vet from holding job
Fosters.com
Wednesday, October 8, 2014

HOUSTON (AP) — The past several months have given Xavier Watt the opportunity to ferry his 10-year-old daughter to and from school, take her to visit her grandparents and go out for ice cream. He does the grocery shopping and keeps the house clean for his wife and little girl. He has time left over to play video games.

It's not the kind of freedom he wants. For Watt, 31, also enjoys his job installing and calibrating temperature-control systems and heating elements as an instrument and electrical technician for SunEdison in Pasadena. He wishes he were still clocking in each day.

But like hundreds of thousands of soldiers back from the war in Iraq, Watt has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and is finding that complicates things in the workplace. He takes medication to control his dark moods, he's had extensive counseling to help him cope with conflict and he leans on his supportive family as he wrestles with scarring memories earned a decade ago far away.

He says he is OK to return to work and that he's got medical reports to prove it. So far, SunEdison won't let him back.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimates 400,000 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have some form of PTSD.

The agency has seen a spike in the number of PTSD-related complaints by workers. Many allege their companies failed to make accommodations for them in the workplace. Before 2002, the agency didn't track these types of complaints; in 2011, it received nearly 600 nationwide.

Joe Bontke, of the local EEOC office, said that when behavioral issues arise with war veterans, many employers' first question is, "What if he comes back with a gun?"
read more here

That last statement shows that the military and the VA have done a lousy job of informing the public about what PTSD is and what it isn't.

MLB releases Army vet tosses grenade-style first pitch video

Video Of Army Vet Throwing ‘First Pitch’ Like A Grenade Goes Viral
KPBS
By Beth Ford Roth
Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Keaton is making headlines for the unprecedented way in which he threw out the first pitch at Saturday's Giants vs. Nationals game.

Keaton lobbed the baseball like a grenade, and video of his stunt is going viral.

Keaton wrote on his Facebook page about the experience:

"I wanted to say a big thank you to all who has supported the 'pitch' I had a blast! I do feel a little guilty that all the worse off soldiers than myself was not able to do it! Thank you again for all the heartfelt gratitude!"
read more here

Army vet tosses grenade-style first pitch
Oct 4, 2014
10/4/14: Retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Keaton throws the ceremonial first pitch, belly crawling before tossing it like a grenade

US Soldier's Families Targets of Jihadist Tweets

Soldiers’ families and homes may be IS targets
The Army Times
October 6, 2014

An image made available on a jihadist website this summer shows militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant with the trademark Jihadists flag in Iraq. U.S. officials are concerned IS supporters may attack Americans in the States.
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images )

Soldiers and their families should be warned the Islamic State is calling on its followers in the United States to use social media sites to “find the addresses of service members, show up (at their homes) and slaughter them,” according to the Army Threat Integration Center.

“ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) has called on lone offenders in the U.S. to use the “yellow pages,” social media sites like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter to find the addresses,” states the ARTIC special assessment published Sept. 25.

The warning is “based on a law enforcement bulletin citing a jihadist tweet,” ARTIC states.

Fort Campbell officials did not return calls seeking comment on Monday.

After U.S. began air strikes in Iraq in August and Syria in late September, IS supporters launched a Twitter campaign threatening to retaliate with violence in the U.S., according to the report.

“A recent audio message from an ISIL spokesman called, for the first time, for lone offender attacks in the homeland in retaliation for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Syria,” the ARTIC report states.

“According to the US government as many as 300 Americans are fighting with ISIL. ... There is concern that these Americans could return to the U.S. and commit attacks using the skills they learned overseas.”
read more here

UN wasted money in Afghanistan including missing weapons

US watchdog: UN misspent more than $200 million in Afghanistan
Foreign Policy
By Colum Lynch
Published: October 7, 2014

Thousands of Afghan government weapons may be unaccounted for, watchdog says
Watchdog: $200 million literacy program misses mark in Afghanistan
Watchdog calls for delay in delivering more C-130s to Afghan air force
IG for Afghanistan paints grim picture of possible narco-criminal state

UNITED NATIONS — The congressionally created watchdog responsible for monitoring U.S. reconstruction funds in Afghanistan blasted the United Nations' chief development agency for exercising a "baffling" lack of oversight of a fraud-tainted, multibillion-dollar program that funds the payroll of the Afghan police.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, on Monday disclosed a series of letter exchanges with Helen Clark, the administrator of the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), detailing the allegations.

The accusations could prove particularly awkward for Clark, a former prime minister of New Zealand who is believed to be a likely candidate to succeed Ban Ki-moon as U.N. secretary-general when the former South Korean foreign minister steps down in December 2016.

Clark has sought to cultivate a reputation in recent months as a reformer, with a series of budget-cutting measures that threatened layoffs at the U.N.'s chief development agency. In July, UNDP announced a plan to eliminate 10 percent of its 1,700 staffers at its New York headquarters and regional hubs in order to "produce a leaner organization, eliminating areas of duplication and relocating more staff" to the field. The charges leveled by the American watchdog, however, could tarnish that record.
read more here

Community shows support for 22 on Ride 2 Recovery

Over 200 vets, active duty personnel cycle through Monterey County
Monterey Herald
By James Urton
POSTED: 10/06/2014

Students from Carmel River Elementary School cheer on bicycle riders participating

in the UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge on Monday.

(Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

MONTEREY
Over 200 veterans and active military personnel cycled through the Monterey Bay area Monday on Day Two of the UnitedHealthcare Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge.

Their seven-day, 465-mile journey from Palo Alto to Los Angeles is a unique opportunity for riders to build up strength, heal from injuries psychologically and physically, and bond with other participants who were injured in service to their country.

"In my case, this is the only physical exercise I'm allowed to get due to my injury," said Michael Stephens, a first-time active duty rider who spent three months training for the California Challenge.

"Getting on the bike is the only time we can get out and do anything other than walk around."

The physical wounds borne by riders range from amputation and battlefield trauma to joint injuries, yet the Ride 2 Recovery project strives to accommodate all wounded veterans and active duty personnel who commit to extensive training for long-distance cycling.

Their costs are covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and sponsors such as UnitedHealth Group Inc., and bicycles are designed around each rider's wounds. Many ride traditional road bicycles, but some use tandem, recumbent or hand cycles.

Cycling often becomes an important source of exercise and healing for wounded active duty personnel and veterans, said Debora Spano, media relations agent for Ride 2 Recovery.
read more here

VA starts to fire executives,,,kinda

VA Fires 4 Senior Executives in Response to Scandal
Associated Press
by Matthew Daly
Oct 07, 2014

WASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department said it is firing four senior executives as officials move to crack down on wrongdoing following a nationwide scandal over long wait times for veterans seeking medical care, and falsified records covering up the delays.

The dismissals are the first since Congress passed a law this summer making it easier for veterans who experience delays to get care outside VA's nationwide network of hospitals and clinics. The law also made it easier for the agency to fire senior officials suspected of wrongdoing, shortening their appeals process to 28 days.

Among those being fired were a top purchasing official at the Veterans Health Administration, directors of VA hospitals in Pittsburgh and Dublin, Georgia, and a regional hospital director in central Alabama, the VA said.

"VA will actively and aggressively pursue disciplinary action against those who violate our values," Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said Monday. "There should be no doubt that when we discover evidence of wrongdoing, we will hold employees accountable."

One of the employees being fired is Susan Taylor, the deputy chief procurement officer with the VHA who oversees $15 billion a year in federal contracts. A report by the VA's Office of Inspector General found that Taylor helped steer contracts to a private company that championed so-called reverse auctions, in which sellers compete with each other to offer the lowest bids. read more here

Veterans Still Not Having Transition Help from Military to Veteran

New study finds veterans struggle in transition to civilian life
Advocates call for holistic approach to vet health
KJRH 2 News
RACHEL QUESTER
OCT 7, 2014

Rep. Murphy has authored a bill to overhaul how the U.S. treats the entire mental health system. Murphy says the bill, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis, aims to provide treatment before tragedy, especially when it comes to helping veterans. The bill is still in committee.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

WASHINGTON D.C. - Some people look at the military veteran Omar Gonzalez who jumped the White House fence recently and say: if only we had a higher fence. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., the only practicing psychologist in Congress, looks at the incident and says, “there was a need for treatment for this man, and he couldn’t get it.”

If a new study by the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California is any indication, Murphy has the right response.

The circumstances service members face upon leaving the military are, to say the least, very bleak.

Nearly two-thirds of veterans are unprepared for civilian life, the study says, and nearly eight in ten do not have a job lined up. Around 40 percent do not have a place to live, and many leave active duty with untreated physical or mental issues. In fact, the study found that about one-third have contemplated suicide.

The study focused only on veterans returning home to Los Angeles County, but an author of the study, retired Army colonel and USC professor Carl Castro, argues that these results can apply on a national level.
read more here

Double Amputee Iraq Veteran Takes Cover of Health Magazine

Amputee vet becomes first Men's Health reader to grace magazine's cover
NBC Today
Scott Stump
October 14, 2014

Noah Galloway, 32, an Iraq War veteran who lost part of his left arm and left leg in an IED explosion, is the first reader to grace the cover of Men's Health magazine after winning the search for the Ultimate Men's Health Guy.

Before U.S. Army veteran Noah Galloway became an inspiring athlete and the first reader in the history of Men's Health magazine to grace its cover, he was nearly overwhelmed by depression and alcohol.

When his Humvee hit an improvised explosive device in Iraq, his life changed. Galloway, 32, was four months into his second tour of duty in the U.S. Army when he lost his left arm above the elbow and his left leg above the knee as a result of an IED blast in Yusafiah, Iraq on Dec. 19, 2005.

A soldier who had been dedicated to fitness since he was a teenager, Galloway gained weight and spent hours every day laying in bed after returning home from the hospital, consumed by depression and alcohol. In 2010, a look in the mirror jolted him into turning his life around, and he dedicated himself to getting back in shape.

The other two finalists were Finny Akers, who gave up a Division I lacrosse scholarship to care for his younger siblings, ages 10 and 9, after his father killed his mother and then himself, and Kavan Lake, who grew up in extreme poverty to become a 22-year U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot. read more here

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Vietnam Veterans Plaza will honor Jan C. Scruggs

Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza to honor Jan Scruggs, Founder and President of VVMF, with Tenth Annual Phelps Award
NEW YORK and WASHINGTON
Oct. 6, 2014

PRNewswire-USNewswire

The Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza will honor Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), as the tenth annual honoree of the Phelps Award. The Phelps Award recognizes outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves by bringing exemplary honor and support to veterans, and especially Vietnam Veterans.

"It is with a great sense of admiration that the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza board of directors names Jan Scruggs as the 2014 recipient of the Phelps Award which recognizes outstanding individuals who bring honor to our veterans in an exemplary way," said Harry Bridgwood, Chairman of the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza. "Jan is truly deserving of this award for his outstanding dedication to honoring Vietnam veterans, begun over three decades ago, and his unwavering and ongoing commitment to honor America's legacy of military service, our veterans and those who are serving today."

"It is quite an honor to be chosen for this award amongst such a distinguished group of previous award winners. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial welcomed home Vietnam veterans in 1982 and today my mission continues with the campaign to build the Education Center at The Wall. The Center will teach future generations about America's legacy of service and make sure that the faces and stories of our heroes are never forgotten. When the Center is built, Vietnam veterans will welcome home the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, who will also be honored there," said Scruggs.

Scruggs was a wounded and decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, having served in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade of the U.S. Army. In 1979, he conceived the idea of building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., as a tribute to all who served during one of the longest wars in American history. Today, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is among the most visited memorials in the nation's capital. Scruggs launched the effort with $2,800 of his own money and gradually gained the support of other Vietnam veterans in persuading Congress to provide a prominent location on federal government property somewhere in Washington, D.C. The site chosen was on the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial.

As president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the nonprofit organization created to build and maintain the Memorial, Scruggs headed up the effort that raised $8.4 million and saw the Memorial completed in just two years. It was dedicated on November 13, 1982, during a week-long national salute to Vietnam veterans in the nation's capital. Scruggs continues to lead VVMF as it enters a new phase in its mission to remember those who sacrificed in Vietnam: building the Education Center at The Wall. The Education Center will show the photos and tell the stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War, as well as celebrate the values embodied by American service members in all of our nation's wars.

The Phelps Award was designed by artist John Phelps, a Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War. In 2003, John Phelps began working with the Friends of Vietnam Veterans Plaza on the award, resulting in the creation of a sculpted replica of a Vietnam era battle helmet. The battle helmet is mounted on a handcrafted green glass-block, inscribed with excerpts from the "letters home," also engraved on the New York City Vietnam Veterans Memorial located in the Plaza at 55 Water Street.

The Friends of Vietnam Veterans Plaza named their Honoree of the Year Award to recognize the service of John Phelps and his son, Marine Corps Lance Corporal Chance Russell Phelps. Chance was killed in action while conducting combat operations west of Baghdad on April 9th 2004. He was nineteen years old.
read more here

The Wall

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.

Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.

And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."

Major Michael Davis O'Donnell
1 January 1970
Dak To, Vietnam
Listed as KIA February 7, 1978