"ONE STUDY THEY HAD 100" AND THE NEXT IT WAS "92" but the Army thinks this is worth yet another $10 million dollars?
UCF RESTORES started in 2011 with $5 million from the Department of Defense, enough to operate for five years. Since then, the clinic has treated Pulse survivors, nearly 300 veterans and first responders from 20 states.
A little over a year ago the program’s funds got so low that it was in danger of closing. But then it received $3 million in federal funds last year, along with $2.5 million from the state's budget after local lawmakers pushed for the funding. It’ll also receive part of a $6.6 million donation earlier this year from UCF alum Jim Rosengren.
“Most of our work so far has been with veterans. Our goal for this project is to see if our treatment is as effective with an all-active-duty population,” said Dr. Deborah Beidel, director of RESTORES.
Read the rest here and they you'll understand why most of the time I look like this!
All that money and yet the last report out of Florida for known veteran suicides was,
(and drum roll please)
The number of Veterans in Florida isFlorida has the third largest population of veterans in the nation after California and Texas with more than 1.5 million veterans –
And who are all the new groups focusing on? It isn't the over 35 year olds WHO ARE ACTUALLY THE MAJORITY OF THE "KNOWN" SUICIDES!
Lawyers claim anti-malaria drug to blame in US soldier's Afghan massacre
ABC News
By ELIZABETH MCLAUGHLIN
May 16, 2018
In July 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) even revised its warning label for the drug, saying rare but sometimes permanent side effects include "dizziness, loss of balance, and ringing in the ears," as well as "feeling anxious, mistrustful, depressed, or having hallucinations."
Lawyers for former Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider that the malaria drug mefloquine may have played a role in Bales' murder of 16 Afghan civilians during his deployment.
On March 11, 2012, Bales was on his fourth combat tour stationed in Panjwai District of Kandahar Provence, Afghanistan when he left his post and killed 16 Afghans, including women and children, in two nearby villages.
In August, 2013, Bales was sentenced to life without parole by a military jury.
Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan at the time, suggested the U.S. should try and hang Bales.
At the time, the soldier was taking medication to prevent malaria called mefloquine, which his lawyers argue contributed to his behavior that night. They are now petitioning the Supreme Court to review the case, saying government prosecutors did not disclose that Bales was ordered to take the drug before and during his deployment.
Court records show that after Bales' first deployment to Iraq in 2004 he complained of memory impairment and depression. And after later deployments, he complained about insomnia, irritability, anger, decreased ability to concentrate, and memory impairment.
read more here
Battle buddies in training: Mason City police chief, family raising service dog for disabled veteran
THE SUMMIT-TRIBUNE
MARY LODEN
May 16, 2018 Updated 8 min ago
Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley was putting together a community services guide after the police station received a mental health planning grant. Brinkley said they partner with local services and he reached out to FAVA to make sure veterans are not underserved.
The Brinkley family with Battle Buddy Bravo. (from left) Eli, 14, Lisa, Bravo, Jeff and Abi, 12.
FOREST CITY | On Saturday, May 5, Forest City residents got to meet the second wave of Battle Buddies, Bravo and Zulu, 12-week-old Labrador puppies, who are in training as service dogs for wounded military veterans.
The puppies were at the Deployment with FAVA 4K Walk, Run, Salute! held at Pilot Knob State Park. The event raised funds for a matching grant program.
The pups, named after the military alphabet, have been placed with host families and have begun their 1 1/2- to 2-year training program. The third puppy, Oscar, and the fourth, Jackson, named after a military base like his predecessors, three years ago, were sent to a partner training facility in the state of Washington, since finding training families can be difficult.
“It is a huge commitment,” said Amanda Eldridge, Battle Buddies coordinator at Family Alliance for Veterans of America (FAVA) in Forest City. “Consistency is super important. Sometimes, people are harder to train than their dogs.”
read more here
Pestilence of "Awareness"
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 16, 2018
There is a fatal epidemic spreading across this country and the cure is truth. With all these groups running around the country collecting money, attention and having fun with their stunts, pretending to care veterans are killing themselves, they get away with it because no one wants to know the truth. They just want to pretend to be "doing" something.
It seems as if lies are being passed off as truth to the point where they would fit in perfectly with the four horseman because this distraction has been an apocalypse for veterans!
If they did not read the reports, then what do they actually know? If they did not bother to learn anything, then what are they aware of? Anyone ask them?
What are they doing with the money they collect and what gives them the right to lie? That is the question all of these reporters should be asking. Then again, if no one is holding anyone accountable, veterans will keep being used, and keep dying by their own hand instead of healing.
I've found it almost impossible to be able to stay positive dealing with trying to get this BS of "awareness" out of the way because it is all too easy to get away with ripping people off while pretending to care.
This is what I see on a daily basis. Keep in mind that these are the top hits on Google today for "veteran suicides" under NEWS. Consider it all fake news! If I hurt the feelings of the "raisers" and the "reporters" too bad because if any of these people really cared enough to learn one single fact, there would be more veterans living and healing instead of ending up in the grave!
Headline:Walk to raise awareness of veteran suicides
Reporter: Denice Thibodeau
More than 8,000 U.S. military veterans commit suicide each year, an average off 22 per day.That statistic galvanized Terry Sharpe, of Summerfield, North Carolina, to do something to help.
Headline:Veterans raise awareness of veteran suicide
Reporter:Kirsten Geddes
ODESSA, TX (KWES) -
A group of veterans are rucking across America to raise awareness for veteran suicide.The veterans started their journey in Cornado, San Diego on March 10 and have walked 22 miles each day. Approximately 1,025 miles have been walked so far. They plan to end their journey at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Headline:Student group plans veteran suicide awareness march
Reporter:Anthony Rimel
The Student Veterans Association of Oregon State University and local community members are planning a 22-kilometer march Saturday to raise awareness of veteran suicide rates.The distance is inspired by the roughly 22 veterans in the United States who commit suicide each day.
Headline:Oregon teenage takes his mission to prevent veteran suicides on the road
Reporter:Christie Nicks and Jay Leonardi
OREGON - An Oregon teenager is taking his mission to help veterans on the road.Connor Young is a high school junior who walked 22 miles last year and raised $4,500 to treat veterans suffering from PTSD. Connor is the first Jr. Leader of Mission 22, an outreach group that hopes to reduce veteran suicides.
Headline: Run for Heroes: USO partner with non-profit to raise awareness of veteran suicides
Reporter: Stacia Naquin
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Supporting our military before, during and after the fight. That’s the goal of Saturday’s Run For Heroes.
It’s happening in partnership with the USO of Central and Southern Ohio and 22 Kill which is a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness of veteran suicide in the U-S.
Headline:Veterans, active military personnel walk to raise awareness for veteran suicide prevention
Reporter: WHAM
The hike benefited Irreverent Warriors, a non-profit that organizes veteran suicide awareness walks around the country. Statistics say 22 veterans take their lives every day in the United States.
This is where the number came from back in 2012. It is 59 pages long. This is where the newer report came from in 2016. Why did they quote the first number, even though the report said it was limited data from just 21 states and why did they quote the first number two years too late?
Try it yourself and see what I mean. Type in "Veteran Suicide" and see how many come up. I could keep going on and on with this but you get the point. Too bad all these groups and reporters still don't.
Jacksonville family devastated after veteran's grave defiled
News4Jax
By Jim Piggott - Reporter
May 14, 2018
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - For the second time in nearly two decades, a Jacksonville woman's family must lay her beloved uncle to rest. This time, it's because someone vandalized the military veteran's grave.
Cheryl Brown's family visits her uncle Willie Graham at his Bartow burial site once a week. On Sunday, however, they found it covered by a blue tarp pinned down by cinder blocks. His clothes lay nearby.
Brown, who is the secretary for the Jacksonville City Council, said Graham's loved ones have no idea what happened, or why for that matter. "We are at a total loss," she told News4Jax.
His grave was the only one ransacked.
Graham's wife, who lives in Miami, was also upset to learn the news. She's not well enough to make the trip to visit his grave site. But, like her niece, she wants to know what happened.
read more here
UPDATE
Travis AFB Psychologist Accused of Sexually Assaulting Vets Pleads Not Guilty
NBC Los Angeles May 26, 2018
Heath Sommer is accused of raping and sexually assaulting at least three patients, including Air Force veterans suffering from PTSD and who had already survived sexual assaults. "This man is a monster," Iraq War veteran Kelly Shufeldt-Rodriguez said about Sommer.
CBS
May 15, 2018
In a statement released by Travis Air Force Base, spokesperson Traci Keller confirmed that the U.S. Air force had contracted Sommer to work at the base's David Grant Medical Center, but said he was "no longer employed there."
A psychologist contracted to help trauma victims at Travis Air Force Base in California left his patients "even more traumatized" by his own alleged sexual attacks, prosecutors say. CBS Sacramento reported Monday that Dr. Heath Sommer was arrested earlier in May and entered not guilty pleas to multiple felony sexual assault and battery charges.
On Monday, prosecutors filed their official complaint against the clinical psychologist, detailing allegations that he used a technique known as exposure therapy on his patients -- inflicting the same sort of abuse on his patients that would have landed some of them in his office in the first place.
CBS Sacramento says the alleged abuse occurred between 2010 and 2016, and that Sommer faces charges including sexual battery, rape, and oral copulation. It was not clear how many alleged victims there were, or how many of them were already victims of sexual abuse before they sought treatment at the Air Force base.
read more here
Will this BS ever stop? First if they want to know about "moral injury" then they should ask the smartest guy on the subject. He has been talking about it SINCE HE WORKED WITH VIETNAM VETERANS and wrote a couple of books about what they were going through! That would be Jonathan Shay!
They need to stop pretending that this is the only generation who has suffered and the only generation that matters! If they ignore the older veterans responsible for starting the research, then they do not DESERVE A SINGLE DOLLAR IN GRANT RESEARCH OR DONATIONS!
Local researchers work to understand and treat 'moral injury' in veterans
KWTX 10 News
By Justin Earley
May 14, 2018
WACO, Texas (KWTX) Have you ever heard of something called "moral injury?"
Michael Russell is the director of the Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans.
It's a problem that isn't widely recognized but many veterans are dealing with it.
In fact Central Texas has become a hub for research into the issue.
In this edition of Hearing the Veteran's Voice we hear from one veteran who experienced it and is now working to treat it.
Veterans have a world of emotions and experiences to grapple with after leaving active duty.
Many people have post traumatic stress disorder.
But that's not the diagnosis for everyone.
Michael Russell is the director of the Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans.
He said, "you have to be put in fear of imminent injury and react in fear or horror to that life threatening situation. To get PTSD you have to have that."
Russell explained the idea of moral injury.
"You have guilt over something that you did, or something that you failed to do. So you did some wrong or you failed to do some right in a military situation. And as a result you're suffering trauma from that or problems from that," he said.
read more here
Missing Navy Sailor Found Dead a Week After Disappearing During Hike
Fox News
By Katherine Lam
14 May 2018
A missing Navy sailor was found dead Saturday, about a week after he vanished on a hike in Washington state, authorities said.
Jeremiah Adams, 24, was found dead Saturday after vanishing on May 4 during a hike. (Clallam County Sheriff’s Office)
The remains of Jeremiah Adams, 24, who was stationed on USS Nimitz, was located by a group of hikers on the Gray Wolf Trail in Sequim, Q13FOX reported. Authorities said the body was found at the bottom of a ravine.
Adams was reported missing after he left for a day hike on May 4, at Olympic National Forest. His friends got worried when the sailor didn't show up for another hike the next day.
read more here
Navy Vet Finishes Walk Across Country for Homeless Vet Awareness in Ocean Beach
NBC 7 News San Diego
By Liberty Zabala and Brie Stimson
May 13, 2018
“For all of these guys that are on the streets, if someone sees my story and helps just one guy get off the street then that's made a better life for someone,” Harris told NBC 7.
He started in Jacksonville on Oct. 10
Shane Harris took the final steps of his cross-country, seven-month-long journey to bring awareness to veteran homelessness on the Ocean Beach Pier Saturday.
Shane Harris (right) meets with the American Legion Riders 460 Chapter after he finished his hike in Ocean Beach.
Harris, who started in Jacksonville, Florida, is a Navy veteran who found himself unemployed and nearly homeless a few years ago. He was raising his teenage daughter at the time.
Harris served in the Navy from 1990 to 1996.
His seven-month walk was called the “Hike for Vets” and raised awareness for the roughly the 40,000 homeless veterans in the United States.
read more here
Let them know to #TakeBackYourLife
Combat PTSD and PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 13, 2018
Judging just the outcome, it is obvious that those who risk their lives, in the military, law enforcement, as firefighters and emergency responders, have not really mattered. How could anyone pretend they matter when the one simple thing that could help them want to live, is ignored? The one simple message they have been getting has been shared millions of times but that message has been death, not about reasons to stay here.
I was furious earlier when a "friend" on Facebook has joined forces with a group I consider the enemy. They are famous for quoting a number without knowing what was truth and what was a headline.
This is the message I left.
(clarified now that my temper has cooled down)
I have started to "unfriend" people who have not paid attention to the work I do, and have done for 36 years! Spreading a rumor on a number has only reinforced the fact these veterans believe they do not matter. If they did not even matter enough for you to read the damn reports, then they really don't matter. If you do nothing for the majority of the veterans committing suicide, the known ones anyway, then you are a fake. 65% are over the age of 50, so tell me how anyone is supposed to believe you actually care if you ignore them?
If you support or push the "22 a day" or even "20 a day" groups of people running around the country, you are part of the problem and that, that makes you no friend of mine.
I had this designed because a plow clears the road so others can move forward. In this case, it is the crap that others have put in the way that leaves veterans trapped~ So if you get out of the way of them being able to heal, let me know. Otherwise, stay out of my lane!
They want to make it easy and fun for them? They want to make money off them? For what? Pretending they give a shit? If their "job" depends on veterans committing suicide then hell, why bother to do anything to change the outcome?
We are talking about men and women who valued life so much, they were willing to die to save someone else. Even if they died for just one other person, they would have considered them worth it. These same people cannot find a reason to save their own!
How can they when all they hear is a message that is nothing more than a slogan of a dead end? I am so sick and tired or all these people screaming about what they are doing when the ones needing to be saved suffer silently!
I ask you, what are you doing to make a difference? What are you doing to put the "awareness" groups out of business? That can only happen one of two ways. Veterans stop killing themselves or the donations stop going to them and start going to groups actually doing the work for ALL VETERANS to stay alive. Either way, veterans win and all these groups get out of the way!
Did it ever once dawn on any of them that a lot of veterans end up risking their lives as responders?
This is about firefighters committing suicide. You know, the ones who rush into burning buildings when everyone else is running away. The same ones who have to get through the traffic jam you complain about so they can recover bodies and save the survivors who inconvenienced you.
Firefighters from around the area gathered for the Elgin Area Firefighters’ Memorial Service at the Elgin Fire Barn No. 5 Museum on Saturday.
(Gloria Casas / Courier-News)
“In 2017, there were 103 documented firefighter suicides in America, whereas there were 93 line-of-duty deaths,” Schilling said. “This statistic is staggering. The fire service and firefighters alike are known for their resilience in the face of adversity. The fire service is known for problem recognition and determining solutions to save lives. I ask you, ‘What if you can make a difference? If not you, then who?’”
This is about police officers committing suicide. You know, the ones being attacked all over social media for responding to save lives, including the ones who blame all of them for what a few do.
Officer Grijalva reportedly took his own life while off duty. He had been with the department for three years. Prior to that, he served in the United States Marine Corps. The family says they believed Officer Grijalva was displaying signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They say they informed the police department about the PTSD, that the officer had threatened suicide, and that they'd found a handwritten suicide note before his death, but the department "did nothing."
If you want to help clear the crap out of their way, then join the road crew!
Go to PTSD Patrol where this post is and leave your email so that we can get this out of their way!
UPDATE, yet one more story who has been left out of that "awareness" BS. Ever hear about a flashback while driving? That very well could have happened when this veteran lost his life and his family lost someone they loved.
At the age of 28, former Army Sgt. Richard Benson was nearly incapacitated with severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"He was still the brother who was always kind and generous, who wanted to take care of people, who would literally take the shirt off his back if someone needed it," she said.
At the same time, said Cooke, every day was a struggle for Benson.
Although he tried to return to his old life, even attending college to become a certified nurse, Cooke said he was haunted by what he'd seen and experienced in Afghanistan. He exhibited classic symptoms of PTSD – anxiety, flashbacks, guilt, unwanted thoughts, sleeplessness, hyper-vigilance and, yes, self-destructive behavior.
Cooke can't say for sure that's the reason for her brother's death. But she's certain his PTSD played a role.
