Two US troops wounded in Afghanistan after vehicle hits mine The Guardian
Associated Press in Kandahar Afghanistan
October 8, 2016
So far seven US service members have died in Afghanistan this year, according to an Associated Press tally.
Two US service members were wounded in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday when their vehicle struck a roadside mine, the military said.
They were “conducting a normal security patrol” near the airport on the outskirts of Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province, when “their vehicle hit the improvised explosive device”, said the US military’s spokesman in Afghanistan, BrigGen Charles Cleveland.
“The individuals were evacuated from the scene of the incident to Jalalabad Airfield for treatment,” he said in a statement. The incident happened early on Saturday morning, he said.
According to procedure, the troops were not identified.
The incident follows the death earlier this week of a US service member, also in Nangarhar, where American military are involved in counter-terrorism operations against Islamic State and the Taliban. read more here
They Live In Deeds of Courage Wounded Times Kathie Costos October 9, 2016
RESIDUAL WAR, Something Worth Living For is based on reports within the over 26,000 articles on Combat PTSD Wounded Times and over thirty years of covering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by military service. It is also from living with and spending most of my free time with veterans.
With all the publicity PTSD and suicides have received, you'd think that the truth would matter, but it doesn't. Until we actually see these men and women carrying the unique burden of serving this nation with everything they have, we'll never really change anything for their sake. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of seeing them used.
Their suffering, their agony has been used for attention getting stunts by folks claiming to be doing something about raising awareness. The truth is, they are more like people taking a video of someone dying instead of calling 911.
So I decided to jump on the fiction bandwagon and try to tell the truth in a lie.
General David King is based on what I think most Generals with PTSD would do in order to really take care of those who have paid the price for their heroic actions causing them to make bad decisions for the right reasons. He sent them to Fort Christmas to serve out their time before retirement.
Generals with PTSD? Yes and there is an example of that in a report from the New York Times about Brig. General Donald Bolduc, Commander of Special Operations talking about his own struggles with PTSD. He isn't the first to do so. Other Generals came out with a lot of courage in 2009 because the lives of those they were in charge of really mattered so much they put them first instead of their own careers.
It is about a female Colonel, Amanda Leverage, suffering after showing great courage and blaming herself for what came afterwards.
A female with courage in combat? Yes, like Spec. Monica Lin Brown, who at the age of 19 received the Silver Star for saving lives in Afghanistan.
After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.
"I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," Brown said Saturday at a U.S. base in the eastern province of Khost.
Another female showing great courage during the Civil War received the Medal of Honor. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a surgeon.
"We live in deeds, not years."
– Mary Walker, title page of Hit
The men Amanda was in charge of were much like the Special Forces members in the following reports.
Special Forces suicides reached a record in 2014 but according to men like Donald Trump, they must not have been tough enough to take it. What is worse is that the head of the Army at the time passed off suicides as if they were not mentally tough and lacked intestinal fortitude.
"First, inherently what we do is stressful. Why do I think some people are able to deal with stress differently than others? There are a lot of different factors. Some of it is just personal make-up. Intestinal fortitude. Mental toughness that ensures that people are able to deal with stressful situations."
He wasn't thinking at all and that is the biggest problem of all. He he even considered all the veterans and those serving under him, he wouldn't have fed the stigma beast and maybe, just maybe he would have issued orders to make sure these men and women were taken care of to heal instead of betraying them with this claim of weakness. In April of 2014 there were reports of Special Forces soldiers committing suicide.
U.S. special forces struggle with record suicides even after all these years of the DOD saying they were taking care of the men and women serving this country. Even after suicides and attempted suicides went up. Even after even the "toughest" of the tough suffered. Anyone know what is going to change? How to change it? Who is accountable for it? Joe Miller, then an Army Ranger captain with three Iraq tours under his belt, sat inside his home near Fort Bragg holding a cocked Beretta 40mm, and prepared to kill himself. Staff Sgt. Jared Hagemann, 25, of the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, killed himself June 28 (2011) at Lewis-McChord. Staff Sgt. Hagemann had orders to return to Afghanistan for a ninth tour of duty. Crowley-Smilek, 28, a former U.S. Army Ranger who suffered from combat stress and physical injuries from service in Afghanistan, was dead; shot multiple times by a police officer outside the Farmington municipal offices on U.S. Route 2. Staff Sgt. Charles Reilly, is a Special Forces soldier who has been deployed six times in the past decade. She said psychiatrists have diagnosed him with PTSD, and he's assigned to Fort Bragg's Warrior Transition Battalion, where soldiers recover from physical and mental wounds. Sgt. Ben Driftmyer was discharged and betrayed. Survived."I had spent eight years serving the military. I never got in trouble. Never did anything bad. And I got treated like I was a piece of crap because of it," said Ben Driftmyer, discharged U.S. Army Sergeant and Cottage Grove resident. Driftmyer was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder by Eugene doctors after he was chaptered out from the special forces unit in Baghdad. He suffered several mental breakdowns during his service, but his discharge was classified as "other than medical." "Because the military didn't want to pay for me for the rest of my life," said Driftmyer. Chief Petty Officer Jerald Kruse, served 19 years in the Navy. He was a SEAL, an elite warrior sent to fight in some of the toughest situations around the world, including in Iraq. “His problems really began in ’05. That’s when I really began to notice something was wrong,” she said. He drank excessively, stayed up all night and lashed out at her and their three kids. Navy Cmdr. Job W. Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, died Saturday while serving as the commanding officer of SEAL Team 4, a special warfare unit based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Navy SEAL Robert Guzzo returned from Iraq, he feared seeking treatment for PTSD would endanger his career.
US Special Forces Struggle With Record Suicides(Reuters) - Suicides among U.S. special operations forces, including elite Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, are at record levels, a U.S. military official said on Thursday, citing the effects of more than a decade of "hard combat."
So while you are paying attention to the veteran in New York carrying around a skeleton dressed in a uniform to raise awareness of suicides, you need to be reminded of the most important fact of all. Lives of others matter so much to all of the above they were willing to die to save them, but they could not find hope to save their own. They ended up on the "wrong side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell."
Veteran carries skeleton around to raise awareness to veteran suicides WTEN Published: October 8, 2016
“Anything we deem burdensome were going to internalize and hold in our core until it rots us”
WATERVLIET, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A New York veteran is walking through Capital Region carrying a skeleton.
His picture has been viewed almost 40,000 times on Facebook. That’s because the skeleton represents another one of his brothers in arms who took their own life.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In John Newcomb’s case, it’s worth tens of thousands.
“You are never too heavy, I will carry you.”
The mission of this army veteran from Watervliet is going viral.
8News sister station, NEWS10 ABC, caught up with him walking past the Albany VA carrying a 40-pound pack and a skeleton draped over his shoulders.
He’s spreading a powerful message that too many veterans are killed by suicide.
“Most of it was on compulsion. I just lost another one from my company.”
He’s traveled through Troy, Watervliet, and Latham and plans on walking across the country, hoping to make a difference. read more here
A General’s New Mission: Leading a Charge Against PTSD New York Times The Saturday Profile By DIONNE SEARCEY OCT. 7, 2016
“The powerful thing is that I can use myself as an example. And thank goodness not everybody can do that. But I’m able to do it, so that has some sort of different type of credibility to it.” Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc
Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc, commander of American Special
Operations Forces in Africa, tells soldiers that it is all
right to get help for brain injuries and mental health problems.
Credit Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
STUTTGART, Germany — It might have been the 2,000-pound bomb that dropped near him in Afghanistan, killing several comrades. Or maybe it was the helicopter crash he managed to survive. It could have been the battlefield explosions that detonated all around him over eight combat tours.
Whatever the cause, the symptoms were clear. Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc suffered frequent headaches. He was moody. He could not sleep. He was out of sorts; even his balance was off. He realized it every time he walked down the street holding hands with his wife, Sharon, leaning into her just a little too close.
Despite all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, it took 12 years from his first battlefield trauma for him to seek care. After all, he thought, he was a Green Beret in the Army’s Special Forces. He needed to be tough.
General Bolduc learned that not only did he suffer from PTSD, but he also had a bullet-size spot on his brain, an injury probably dating to his helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2005.
Other high-ranking officers have come forward to talk about their struggles with post-combat stress and brain injuries. And in recent years, Special Operations commanders have become more open about urging their soldiers to get treatment. read more here
He is not alone in talking about having PTSD. Other Generals came out as well so that they could actually care for the men and women they commanded.
Brig. General Gary S. Patton and Gen. Carter Ham have both sought counseling for the emotional trauma of their time in the Iraq war.
Texas' First All-Female Honor Flight Takes Off From Austin TWC News
By LeAnn Wallace
Saturday, October 8, 2016
AUSTIN, Texas - An honor guard and an appreciative crowd are symbols of respect that go with every well-deserved honor flight.
But this trip was different.
It was the first all-women’s veterans honor flight in Texas and the third ever nationally.
"It feels wonderful. I never thought I'd be honored at my age, 93," said B.J. Garner, a WWII veteran.
For others, the honor flight brings back powerful memories, such as “Clark Air Base, triage, blood (and) bullets” for Frankie Dawson who was a Vietnam War medic.
The women are all World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans. They're off on an all-expenses paid trip to see the war memorials in Washington DC. read more here
Man shot dead by police at CU-Boulder was former Marine discharged under questionable circumstances The Denver Channel
Blair Miller, Sally Mamdooh
Oct 7, 2016
BOULDER, Colo. – The University of Colorado Police Department named the two officers involved in the fatal shooting of a man wielding a machete on campus Wednesday as it came to light the man was a former Marine.
Brandon Simmons, 28, of Thornton, allegedly threatened a sports medicine patient with a machete at CU-Boulder Wednesday before police confronted him and eventually shot him dead.
Friends of Simmons’ on Friday told Denver7 he was a former Marine who was discharged earlier this year after around a decade of service. Simmons had two children and an ex-wife, who all live in California, where Simmons used to be stationed.
Friends say he recently moved in with his father in Thornton after the divorce.
Simmons had been a drill instructor during his time in the Marines. A friend of his said he was the "epitome" of what a good drill instructor should be and called the incident and Simmons' death "shocking."
A photo of Simmons posted to Facebook publicly by a friend shows Simmons in his Marines dress uniform, with sergeant bars on his sleeve. read more here
Once in a while someone says something completely stupid about PTSD. While they may care about the troops and our veterans, it becomes obvious they did not care enough to learn much about them. When folks lined up to start repeating "22 a day" and how they were raising awareness, I'd argue with them about the numbers and what the VA report actually said. That was when I'd hear the words that made me hang up the phone. "Its just a number" they said defending their use of someone else's anguish. So how is it they survived combat but could not survive when they were back home? We may see them as heroes, but they say they were just doing their jobs. We may see them as victims, but they see themselves as survivors. We may see them as someone to feel sorry for but they discovered the truth and found the power within all they still had to give. From Residual War, Something Worth Living For by Kathie Costos DiCesare FIRST NIGHT LEVERAGE’S ROOM
Alarm clock shows 3:15 near the window where she is standing looking out. The soldiers were in their rooms.
Michaels paces the floor
Alvarez is sleeping with his machine gun by his side.
Franklin is sitting on the side of the bed. Elbows on knees, head down in his hands. Daniel's room was empty
Shultz is in bed with glow of cell phone on his face.
Bean and Murray are sleeping in the same bed. Bean has arm around Murray as his legs are moving and he is whimpering.
Daniels is walking around as if on patrol.
Faith is in fetal position, shaking with tears coming out of his eyes.
The next day all of them were talking about how they ended up at Fort Christmas. Each one of them had proven themselves as heroic and human. They had heard all the rumors about PTSD but they survived the causes while idiots spread gossip.
"So you see ma’am every one of us did something for the right reason without thinking about what the consequences would be because it had to be done."
"It had to be done" and it was done over and over again. They did it because everyone they served with in Afghanistan and Iraq were worth dying for. The trouble was, none of them had found something worth living for until someone else proved to them their own worth.
Vietnam vets relive war for students with straight talk at park Worcester Telegram Brad Petrishen October 7, 2016
“We tell them, ‘Your questions are our therapy,’” Mr. Polaski said as Friday’s crop of students – 170 eighth-graders from Lowell – pulled up in four buses. “All’s we do is hope somebody remembers it.”
WORCESTER – “What was it like to kill your first person?” the first student asked Phil Madaio as the morning sun shone on the chiseled slabs of stone that forge the state’s Vietnam memorial.
“Not good,” the Vietnam veteran replied in a deep, gravelly voice. “But you can’t think about that long or you’ll be laying there next to him.”
Grim truths abounded Friday as four veterans shared their experiences at Green Hill Park. The sessions are not always easy, but the men, part of a local group called Vietnam Veterans for the Community, know that while granite lasts forever, they will not.
“It’s living history,” Casey Polaski, 68, told a collection of students gathered in front of the memorial’s seminal structure, a ring of granite slabs bearing the names of the 1,547 dead or missing soldiers from Massachusetts.
Dedicated in 2002, the memorial this summer was approved for $200,000 in repairs and $50,000 in annual maintenance. Mr. Madaio, Mr. Polaski and their friends are always shocked at how many people don’t know it exists; they offer tours here often, speaking for men who cannot, and sharing a burden they will always carry.
read more here
We survived yesterday, a very long, long day behind boarded up windows. It was the 4th hurricane to hit Central Florida since we moved here. Today is clean up day and trying to get back to normal. We got lucky but folks on the coast were not lucky at all.
National Guard begins operations in Florida as Hurricane Matthew pushes north
STARS AND STRIPES By COREY DICKSTEIN
Published: October 7, 2016
This photo from a Florida Department of Transportation traffic camera, which has become a hit on the internet, shows National Guard vehicles heading south to prepare to help residents in Hurricane Matthew's wake as evacuees move in the opposite direction.
Florida Department of Transportation
WASHINGTON – National Guard troops in Florida began initial search-and-rescue operations Friday in the southern parts of the state as powerful Hurricane Matthew moved up the East Coast toward Georgia and South Carolina.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott activated some 3,500 National Guard troops, who began aerial and ground-based search-and-rescue operations in the state’s southeast as the Category 3 hurricane moved slowly north along the coastline, said Air Force Maj. Gen. J.C. Witham, the National Guard Bureau’s operations director. In addition, thousands of Florida Guardsmen were on standby to deploy, if needed. read more here
Community Comes Together for Funeral of ‘Mystery Marine’ in Stafford County
NBC 4 News Washington By David Culver and Chelsea Cirruzzo
October 6, 2016
A Virginia community came together on Thursday to say farewell to a local veteran known as the “Mystery Marine.”
Cpl. Mario Kletzke ran up and down Route 610 in Stafford County carrying the American flag in one hand and a POW flag in the other on every Fourth of July for the past three years.
Kletzke was nicknamed the Mystery Marine on social media after most residents struggled to identify the runner. There’s even a Facebook page called the “Stafford County Mystery Marine,” with photos of Kletzke in his green Marine shorts
“How didn’t I know?” family friend Janet Martel said of the true identity of the Mystery Marine.
Kletzke took his own life last week after suffering from PTSD. He was 23.
There was a time when I avoid any mention of an Opinion piece but shockingly enough, I started to notice that the writer was actually paying attention. Reading the headline of "The VA’s Faltering Battle Against Veteran Suicide" by Robert M. Morgenthau on The Wall Street Journal, there is a lot that he got right.
"The most dramatic manifestation of PTSD among veterans now is a suicide rate approximately twice that of the general population."
We can quote all the numbers we want as many times as we want but the truth is, these reported numbers have remained pretty much unchanged with a casual look. In 1999 it was 20 a day and again, this year, the VA sets the reported number at 20 a day.
What is not mentioned is that back in 1999 there were about 5 million more veterans in the country than there are now.
"It is time for Congress and the administration to take ownership of this issue."
For all the hearings and claims made by politicians, all the money spent, it is actually worse now than it was when the press failed our veterans and did not want to publicize what families like mine were going through. We suffered in silence, not by our own choice, but because the American public was not able to hear us. Congress has just blamed the VA yet within the numbers the fact remains that veterans receiving treatment from the VA are less likely to commit suicide than those who are not turning to the VA. Instead of spending money on what does work, funding programs that were learned and proven over the last 4 decades, they push repeated failures. And what veterans do not agree with.
Similarly, we need to face frankly that current efforts to combat PTSD and suicide have been inadequate. To supply crucially needed mental health services, Congress and the administration need to act immediately to provide veterans access to civilian mental-health services, and need to improve treatment by dramatically expanding public/private partnerships. This must be a priority.
They do not want to go to a civilian doctor simply because they are civilians. They cannot begin to understand a veteran back from combat he/she left the night before in their dreams. As for those still in the military, they are not included in on any of the quoted numbers but are included in on the suffering.
EXCLUSIVE: How Jimmy Stewart's agony in It's a Wonderful Life came from extreme PTSD he suffered after he lost 130 of his men as fighter pilot in WWII
Daily Mail Dan Bates
October 6, 2016
Actor Jimmy Stewart was haunted by his memories from his time in the Air Force and suffered from PTSD when he returned from World War II
Stewart wrestled with the guilt of killing civilians in bomb raids over France and Germany and felt responsible for the death of his comrades
Stewart never talked about his struggles and bottled up his emotions
But they came out when acting parts he chose when he returned to Hollywood
He tapped into his emotional distress during filming of It's a Wonderful Life, where his character George Bailey unravels in front of his family
Stewart's anguish is laid bare for the first time in Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the fight for Europe by author Robert Matzen
Actor Jimmy Stewart, pictured in 1945 after World War II combat
ended, was haunted by his memories from his time in the Air Force
Jimmy Stewart suffered such extreme PTSD after being a fighter pilot in World War II that he acted out his mental distress during 'It's a Wonderful Life'.
Stewart played George Bailey in the classic movie and channeled his anger and guilt into the scenes where he rages at his family.
Stewart was haunted by 'a thousand black memories' from his time as an Air Force commanding officer that he took with him back to Hollywood after the war.
Pilots who flew with him said that became 'Flak Happy' during World War II, a term to describe what is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
Stewart wrestled with the guilt of killing civilians in bomb raids over France and Germany including one instance where they destroyed the wrong city by mistake. read more here
Ok, it has been 15 years and we lost a lot of lives during combat and afterwards. The thing is, we lost a lot during Vietnam, during combat and afterwards. It seems as if that war has been edited for convenience.
1956
The first American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was Air Force T-Sgt. Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. He is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having a casualty date of June 8, 1956.
1975
The last American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was Kelton Rena Turner, an 18-year old Marine. He was killed in action on May 15, 1975, two weeks after the evacuation of Saigon, in what became known as the Mayaguez incident.
As you can see from the Vietnam Memorial, it was one month shy of 20 years. When will any of these reporters figure that one out?
The Longest War in U.S. History Began 15 Years Ago. See Its Effect on One Veteran TIME
October 7, 2016
The United States began the War in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001
When the U.S. began its attack on Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, Nick Mendes was an 11-year-old who loved to play video games.
By the time ten years had passed, Nick Mendes had become Sgt. Mendes of the U.S. Army. In 2011, in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province, he was blown up by an IED and paralyzed from the neck down.
“I remember ten seconds afterwards,” he recalls, “but then I blacked out.”
Afghanistan has become America’s longest war, and American troops still remain in the region years after the official 2014 end of the conflict. Sgt. Mendes, now 26, is one of more 20,000 U.S. service members injured in that war—numbers that don’t include traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Sgt. Mendes’ life was saved by battlefield practices that have been honed and improved after years of such incidents in the region. He and many others are part of the population of service members who would likely have died in previous conflicts, in the days before modern battlefield medical protocols were introduced, but instead have returned home to drastically different and often devastatingly challenging circumstances. read more here
Would be a good idea if they did remember considering none of the wounds or problems these veterans face are new. Would be good to mention that with all these decades of "addressing" PTSD, suicides, VA claims and Congress funding bills that don't work while holding hearings on the increase of suicides, especially with veterans over the age of 50, it would all be more worthy of their struggles to actually do some meaningful reporting on all this.
Soldiers at Fort Campbell Army base allegedly sold military equipment to foreign nations on eBay New York Daily News
Jason Silverstein
October 6, 2016
A soldier (not connected to the case) holds an M249 machine gun, one of the weapons whose parts were allegedly sold on eBay by soldiers from Fort Campbell.
(JULIE JACOBSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Soldiers at Fort Campbell sold more than $1 million worth of military gear and weapons parts to buyers worldwide through eBay, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.
The soldiers allegedly hawked parts of a grenade launcher and machine guns that were stolen from warehouses near the Army base in Clarksville, Tenn.
"These are extraordinarily and inherently dangerous in the wrong hands and outside of the military or police tactical use," U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee David Rivera said at a press conference. read more here
To Readers, I am not sure what will happen tomorrow but we're heading for a very long couple of days. If there are no posts tomorrow, that means we are out of power. If you are a praying person, please do so since my state needs all the help we can get. Moved in just before Charlie, Francis and Jeanne but this one is supposed to be worse than Charlie was. Our street looked like a war zone. Also, if you could, please pray for our National Guard, police, firefighters and EMT's along with all the power crews showing up from all over the country.
Fort Drum soldier home from Afghanistan drowns in Pleasant Lake in St. Lawrence County The Journal
By GORDON BLOCK
PUBLISHED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2016
MACOMB — A Fort Drum soldier who recently returned from a deployment in Afghanistan was found dead after a kayaking incident in Pleasant Lake, state police said Tuesday.
Police were called to search for Sgt. Julian D. Harris, 24, of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., in the area of North Shore Road at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Troopers determined Sgt. Harris, who lived locally in Calcium, was kayaking alone that day.
A search for him was undertaken by Gouverneur Fire and Rescue, Brier Hill Rescue, and divers from the City of Ogdensburg Fire Department, which ended at 11 p.m. read more here
Stunning when you think about the obvious. First thought jumping out at me is that the quoted number has nothing to do with current military members committing suicide. You'd think they'd be doing something to address their own tragic ends to lives dedicated toward saving others. The other thought is that all these stunts have not done any good at all.
22 Pushup Challenge? Not in uniform or on duty, says Air Force Air Force Times
By: Stephen Losey
October 5, 2016
(Photo Credit: Christopher Ball/Air Force)
Over the past few months, Facebook feeds — and even official defense media sites — have been flooded with photos and videos of people dropping to the ground and doing 22 pushups to raise awareness of the problem of veterans and suicide.
But the Air Force is now warning airmen that while they are allowed to take part in such challenges, doing so while in uniform or on duty, even if their intentions are good, could violate the Defense Department's policies against endorsements and fundraising. The release emphasized that fundraising can't be done during duty hours, although lunch hours are OK, or while in uniform or in the workplace.
"While [airmen] are allowed to participate in activities to honor fallen airmen or bring awareness to issues like suicide, if these activities are associated with any type of nonprofit, non-federal entity, or fundraising or membership campaign, it cannot be done in an official capacity," according to a Sept. 30 Air Force release that described something very similar to the 22 Pushup Challenge, although it didn't refer to it by name. read more here
Seems it would be a good idea to address the suicides while they are still in instead of doing pushups for the ones the DOD doesn't have to count anymore.
This is a stunning reminder of what is still going on, but that is what keeps getting missed. This has been going on for generations and the worst part is, after over a decade of prevention, it is worse now than ever.
OnlyOnAOL: PTSD filmmakers, veteran respond to Trump's comments AOL.COM EDITORS By: Donna Freydkin Oct 4th 2016
He's insulted women, Latinos and Muslims, and admitted to not paying taxes.
This week, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump started his latest media maelstrom with his comments about veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The documentary tells the story of four struggling Iraq War veterans, including Rodriguez.
"I think this is an issue that has been silent for far too long," says Rodriguez. "This is an issue that is bipartisan and most people care about veterans' mental health." read more here
Soldier returns to emotional airport homecoming after nearly a year in Afghanistan KIMA News by Elizabeth Faugl October 4th 2016
A Soldier returned home to an emotional reunion after nearly a year in Afghanistan
(Courtesy: Gerald R. Ford International Airport)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For those who just can't get enough of those happy, emotional military homecomings, there was a special reunion in Michigan Tuesday afternoon. After 283 days in Afghanistan, Master Sergeant Keen flew home, and was greeted by his family at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. His emotion could be seen as he walked off the plane and saw his family waiting at the gate. A video posted to the airport's Facebook page shows him dropping his bags as his wife runs to give him a hug. After their emotional reunion, he then was greeted by his kids and saw his 10-week-old grandson for the very first time.
read more here
PTSD: Residual War Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos October 4, 2016 I haven't been doing much posting lately because I was working on my new book. A real switch for me since this is a work of fiction but within the pages is a lot of truth that few want to talk about. Hey, why should they bother when some many of gone bonkers over what is easy? How the hell they think raising awareness is going to help anyone is beyond even my understanding of human nature. To borrow a line from Dr. Phil someone should ask them "how's that working for you so far" because it has only gotten worse for the veterans. So, it begins. A young woman, Mary Walker, grieves for the brother she lost to suicide in Afghanistan while she blames him for being weak and selfish. Her other brother is confined to a wheelchair after being blown up by an IED. After yet another day playing caregiver to him at the Lake Nona VA hospital, she finds a script written by someone with the name Mary Edwards Walker and the words Medal of Honor.
She has a couple of hours sitting by the memorials to the fallen and reads every word. The script starts at Fort Christmas where there is one of the strangest military funerals she ever heard of. Then she begins to read about Colonel Amanda Leverage serving as a Chaplain in Afghanistan, cold, distracted and detached, Mary has already made up her mind she should not be in any position to tend to the spiritual needs of anyone. Leverage is demoted and sent to Fort Christmas by someone protecting her so that she can at least fill out her days until she can retire with some kind of dignity. She is in charge of a bunch of misfits just like her, only they are all males. After reading the script, Mary finds a better understanding that having PTSD is far from being weak, but more the strength of their love that makes them grieve so much.
RESIDUAL WAR Something Worth Living For, is about finding something worth staying alive for since they are all too ready to risk their lives for the sake of others in combat, but seem to find something worth staying alive for when everyone is out of danger, but them.
It is the one thing they all have in common. When it comes to laying down their own lives for someone else, they were worth it. When it comes to seeing that same worth within themselves, that, that they find impossible to find. Yet, when they do, when they understand that it is the strength of their love that enabled them to do it, they use the same love to heal and then help others to find something worth living for within themselves.
There is a female hero in Leverage, plus one in a Black Hawk Pilot who wanted to die when she became an amputee and was told she couldn't fly anymore. She managed to not only live, but fly the General who gave her back something to live for as well. The women and men in this book are not perfect but none of them are weak. All of them are dealing with PTSD, survivor guilt and in Amanda's case, savior's remorse on top of it. After over three decades of spending this much time with veterans, the last thing any of the are is weak. Ya, I know, perfect timing considering what hit the news about one more ignorant person using "not strong" and "can't take it" to explain why so many take their own lives. This is nothing more than passing judgement on what we may think instead of what we actually learn about people. It is about finding redemption among your peers and learning what it is to be a simple human within the complexity of military life. There are many part within these pages that are based on true stories stung together. Homeless veterans abandoned and used as lab rats by ruthless, greedy fools who saw them as a way to get rich while pretending to care. The veterans actually believed no one would ever care about them, until Leverage arrived and taught them that they also have something worth living for after being betrayed by the Army in 2013 when 11,000 of them were kicked out of the only like they ever wanted.
