VA Wants Money Back from Texas Iraq Veteran

Iraq War Veteran Stripped of Benefits For Wife and Daughter Because of the State They Live In 
IJ Review
BY KATIE LAPOTIN
(3 HOURS AGO)
LEGAL, MILITARY, POLITICS

An Iraq War veteran has been ordered to pay back the benefits she received from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) for her family.

The VA claimed the vet received them by mistake. According to The Advocate, Melissa Perkins-Fercha must pay back the federal money because she and her wife live in a state – Texas – which does not recognize same-sex marriage.

Perkins-Fercha, a disabled veteran, and her wife, got married in the state of Washington, in 2012. In 2014, her wife gave birth to their daughter. The VA covered Perkins-Fercha’s wife and daughter for less than a year.

Then they sent her a letter, informing the veteran that all of her benefits would be frozen until she paid back the money sent for her legally unrecognized family.
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Military Sexual Assaults Not Forgotten By Vicims

We have unlimited access to knowledge today but if we settle for what some folks want us to know, we won't know much at all. That is the basis behind one issue veterans face after another. Some want to believe PTSD only hits the OEF and OIF veterans. That way they won't have to take a look at how many years this has all been going on while members of congress make a bunch of bullshit speeches that allow bad to turn into worse.

We also see it going on even know with speeches about military sexual assaults, as if anything has changed.

Never settle for what we're being told today without wondering how it got this bad. Reporters have a nasty habit of forgetting who did what and when they did it. Nothing will get fixed unless we really hold folks accountable. Never stop asking questions and when you get the answer, ask for more.

In 2012 there was a case where a female veteran had been waiting years for justice. How long? 50 years!

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A former Marine is coming forward with a painful secret.
An 80-year-old Portland woman says she was raped during her military service — and has been fighting ever since for the veterans benefits she says she deserves.

If you want to know why female veterans are fed up with what has been coming out of congress, begin with understanding this betrayal is far from new. All of these stories are on Wounded Times and when possible the link to the source is provided, still active and you can read the entire story.

2008

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Casey is particularly interested in how the military handles complaints from women in the National Guard and reserve, whose cases may be harder to investigate than those of women on full-time active duty and in the federal civilian workforce.

In the letter, Casey said he knows the military is trying to do more, but added: “I am still very troubled by a process that may dissuade many victims from ever coming forward with claims.”

From Reuters

Nearly 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care from the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department have suffered sexual trauma, from harassment to rape, researchers reported on Tuesday.

And these veterans were 1.5 times as likely as other veterans to need mental health services, the report from the VA found.

2009 New York Times James Dao, veterans had to pay after being assaulted.

The department is required to provide free care, including counseling and prescription drugs, to veterans who were sexually harassed or assaulted while in military service. Sexual assault includes rape and attempted rape.

But the Office of Inspector General at the department found this year that an outpatient clinic in Austin, Tex., had repeatedly charged veterans, mostly women, for those services. Based on concerns that the practice may be more widespread, the office decided to expand its review to a sampling of veterans health care centers and clinics nationwide.

An official in the office declined to comment, saying it does not discuss pending reviews. The official said the review would be made public when it was completed, possibly by October.

In a statement, the Department of Veterans Affairs said the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, which oversees the Austin clinic, was reimbursing patients who had been improperly billed. “Patients seen for military sexual trauma should not be billed for payment,” the statement said. “We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.”

From RawStory report of 2011 based on what happened in 2009 when a female soldier was told by a military Chaplain the rape was God's will.

In February 2009, she reported for active duty training and, upon seeing her rapist, went into shock.

"She immediately sought the assistance of the military chaplain," the lawsuit reads. "When SGT Havrilla met with the military chaplain, he told her that 'it must have been God's will for her to be raped' and recommended that she attend church more frequently."

2011
From Army Times

The House Armed Services Committee adopted a series of new protections when it passed the 2012 defense authorization bill last week, and similar legislation was introduced Wednesday in the Senate by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., one of the cosponsors of the House sexual assault provisions, said introduction of a Senate bill “will help move this legislation closer to becoming law.”

The House and Senate initiatives are similar, drawn from recommendations of the 2009 final report of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services to fix flaws in the rights and legal protections for assault victims.

Supporters said one in three women leaving the military report experiencing sexual trauma while in the service, but less than 14 percent of sexual assaults in the military are reported to authorities, and only about 8 percent of reported sexual assaults in the military are prosecuted.

2012 From Huffington Post

A U.S soldier committed a violent sex crime every six hours and 40 minutes in 2011, a rate far above that of the general population, the report found.

"This is unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for this," Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, said at a press conference Thursday. "Army leaders take sexual assault seriously."

Chiarelli said the Army was confronting the problem by stepping up surveillance of barracks and cracking down on drug and alcohol abuse, a key factor in sexual assault.

CNN reported that women were being discharged under "personality disorders"

Stephanie Schroeder joined the U.S. Marine Corps not long after 9/11. She was a 21-year-old with an associate's degree when she reported for boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.

"I felt like it was the right thing to do," Schroeder recalls.

A year and a half later, the Marines diagnosed her with a personality disorder and deemed her psychologically unfit for the Corps.

Anna Moore enlisted in the Army after 9/11 and planned to make a career of it. Moore was a Patriot missile battery operator in Germany when she was diagnosed with a personality disorder and dismissed from the Army.

Jenny McClendon was serving as a sonar operator on a Navy destroyer when she received her personality disorder diagnosis.

These women joined different branches of the military but they share a common experience: Each received the psychiatric diagnosis and military discharge after reporting a sexual assault.

2013

Earlier in the month, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., was one of the first to call for action in light of the Pentagon’s Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military.

“I am deeply outraged that today’s report released by the Pentagon indicates that sexual assault continues to be so prevalent today in our military,” Casey said in a May 7 statement.

And here we are after all these years.

2014 December report from the Washington Post

A recent VA survey found that 1 in 4 women said they experienced sexual harassment or assault. WASHINGTON — Thousands of female veterans are struggling to get health care and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs on the grounds that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by sexual trauma in the military.

The veterans and their advocates call it the second battle — with a bureaucracy they say is stuck in the past.

Judy Atwood-Bell was just a 19-year-old Army private when she was locked inside a barracks room at Fort Devens in Massachusetts, forced to the cold floor, and raped by a fellow soldier, she said.

For more than two decades, Atwood-Bell fought for an apology and financial compensation for PTSD, with panic attacks, insomnia, and depression that she recalls starting soon after that winter day in 1981.

She filled out stacks of forms in triplicate and then filled them out again, pressing over and over for recognition of the harm that was done.

And the Pentagon released data on Dec. 4 that showed that 62 percent of those who reported being sexually assaulted had experienced retaliation or ostracism afterward.

They have been waiting for someone to change things so that more victims won't have to remember what we've been allowed to forget.

President Obama Gets Credit For What President Bush Actually Did?

Reading an article on Breitbart about Rep. Ryan Zinke was stunning since it appears Edwin Mora decided to just follow along the rest of the crowd and give President Obama credit for something President Bush actually did.

The panel’s moderator asked Rep. Zinke, a former Navy SEAL Team Six commander, “You fought that war, would you have gone in knowing what we now know?”

“No,” candidly responded Zinke who led a force of over 3,500 Special Operations personnel in Iraq.

“I probably would not have gone, nor would I have left as soon as we did,” also said Zinke, later adding,“We left too soon and now we have to reengage.”

See, not only did President Bush start the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, he actually ended US operations in Iraq before being replaced by the newly elected President Obama.

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary
December 14, 2008

President Bush and Iraq Prime Minister Maliki Sign the Strategic Framework Agreement and Security Agreement Prime Minister's Palace Baghdad, Iraq

PRIME MINISTER MALIKI: (As translated.) I'd like to welcome the President of the United States, President George W. Bush. I would like to welcome you here as a guest. You have stood by Iraq and the Iraqi people for a very long time, starting with the -- getting rid of the dictatorship, helping the Iraqis to fight terrorism.

President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki shake hands following the signing of the Strategic Framework Agreement and Security Agreement at a joint news conference Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, at the Prime Minister's Palace in Baghdad. President Bush said, " The agreements represent a shared vision on the way forward in Iraq."

Your visit today to Iraq, Mr. President, comes after the signing of the agreement between the two countries, which represents -- (audio drop) -- foundation and draws a road map that will govern and guide the relationship between the two states.

I believe that Iraq, we have performed and have done great work in a cooperative and integrated way in fighting terror. We have succeeded in Iraq, and we hope that efforts also around the world will succeed in defeating terrorism. Today Iraq is moving forward in every field. Through the new Iraqi political system we are working very hard through this, as well as developing the Iraqi economy, and reconstruction of Iraq. We are doing all of this in order for Iraq to restore its rightful place among nations and among the world, and away from the previous reckless policies that focused on wars with the previous regime.

The various political institutions have taken a very strong leadership position and the agreement was ratified, was approved by our political system, our parliament, and various institutions of the Iraqi government. They have approved and ratified the SOFA agreement and the withdrawal of American forces. We believe that these efforts culminated the height of real understanding and cooperation and friendship between Iraq and the United States. Now remains the part of implementing such an agreement. Now we are in the process of forming the proper committees that will carry out all elements of the various two agreements that were signed -- and I'm referring to the various fields, military, scientific, educational, commerce, as well as economic fields.

President Bush, you have played a very supportive role in achieving and concluding this agreement and prior to the actual date of starting to implement this agreement, in January 1, '09 we already start working through the United Nations Security Council we are in the process of drafting a resolution that will make it very clear that Iraq no longer represents a threat to world peace and security. And also a resolution that will set the basis for the protection of Iraqi financial capabilities and bring Iraq back to its rightful place among world communities.

Once again I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you, Mr. President. Once again I wish you a very joyful stay here in Baghdad and a safe trip back home.

We're also signing a Security Agreement, sometimes called a Status of Forces Agreement. The agreement provides American troops and Defense Department officials with authorizations and protections to continue supporting Iraq's democracy once the U.N. mandate expires at the end of this year. This agreement respects the sovereignty and the authority of Iraq's democracy. The agreement lays out a framework for the withdrawal of American forces in Iraq -- a withdrawal that is possible because of the success of the surge.
the link is still live and you can read the rest here

Whenever you read something be careful of what the article really says as much as what it doesn't say. A lot of smart people look really stupid when they believe something just because they want to.

Community Takes Action For Vietnam Veteran Jailed With PTSD

A Veteran’s Fight: TAKING ACTION, GETTING RESULTS for a Forgotten Hero
WHNT 19 News
BY AL WHITAKER
FEBRUARY 26, 2015

Ron Buis came home from Vietnam with a Purple Heart, a Vietnamese Citation for Gallantry with Bronze and Silver stars, and a Gold Star from the Marines in lieu of a second Purple Heart.

He also brought with him the haunting memories of a horrible experience that would later manifest themselves as psychotic depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. From the records we could obtain, Buis was being treated for these issues a decade ago.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – WHNT News 19 is Taking Action on the behalf of a prisoner in the Madison County Jail. Ron Buis served his country with honor but now he’s serving time. We agreed to do his story because of the reason he’s behind bars.

Buis is charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling. It’s a felony, and he’s being held without bond. It’s not that Buis was outside shooting into someone else’s house. He was in his mobile home and the bullets traveled into the mobile homes near his. It happened on more than one occasion, too.

His friends tell us Ron wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. They say he was shooting at the voices in his head.

In 1967, Ron Buis was only 17 years old when he enlisted in the Marines. As a member of Alpha Company, First Battalion, First Marines, he saw plenty of combat in Vietnam, plenty of things he would seldom discuss.

“It’s frustrating. You feel really helpless, you know, somebody you love, and they’re suffering,” said longtime friend Kay Sewell.

“What we have is the VA that’s releasing these people out here in society that need help. And the overall society is at risk in addition to these men are at risk. And there’s no reason for that,” says Buis’ attorney, John C. Taylor of Huntsville. read more here

U.S. Army Sniper Veteran Couldn't Survive Home

If you are stunned by this report, don't be. It shows how the military has not been doing a very good job getting servicemen and women to understand what PTSD is and what it does, anymore than they explain to them how to heal. It shows how all these years of Congress passing bills claiming they understand how to do it, actually boils down to they don't have a clue.

When a veteran is a "helper" and tries to help others, you pay a price emotionally if you do not have the strength to begin doing it. If you want to help others, get stronger first the way you had to train to go into combat in the first place, preparing your body as well as your mind.

Next, don't be afraid to ask for help no matter how others seem to think you know it all. They will actually look up to you more considering you have more knowledge than they do but still need help from time to time.

We've lost too many advocates in this battle after war. Remember to be good to yourself so you can help even more veterans just like you.

How veterans are helping other vets fight against suicide
KTBC News
Mike Warren
Posted: Feb 26, 2015

This week the Central Texas community lost another veteran.

On Monday Brett Aycock, a U.S. Army sniper veteran, killed himself.

This is especially hard for the community because Aycock was actively involved in raising awareness about veteran suicides.

He'd recently been working with the WYSH Project, a group we have profiled several times on the Care Gorce that fights against military suicide.

We want to extend our condolences to Aycock's family and friends.

The WYSH project isn't the only group fighting against vet suicide. There is also a state-wide organization called the Military Veterans Peer Network.

Mike Warren caught up with Christopher Araujo to learn more about the organization.

Araujo is one of about 36 area coordinators with the Military Veterans Peer Network.

The group's formula to help struggling vets is simple: they are veterans too.

"I'm a combat vet, you're a combat vet, I understand what you're going through, I can help with what you're going through because I've been there. I've done it," Araujo said.

He says that method works in Central Texas because the rate of veteran suicides here is far less than the national average of about 22 a day.

He says he's never lost anybody, and he's sure not going to lose Darrell Garrett, despite his PTSD.

Garrett served in Iraq and it was his parents who contacted the peer network because Garrett was isolating himself and they were worried.

"There've been days where I'm sad I woke up but I've never made a plan. You feel alone. Nobody understands what you're going through," he said.
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