The insanity of sharing defeat instead of defiance
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 14, 2019
"We just want to make everyone aware of the number" is what one of the organizers had to say about raising funds for Mission 22.
As nauseating as that sounds to us, what makes it worse is, it is actually the truth behind all of the awareness groups running around the country, pulling stunts and getting publicity for lying.
This news coverage just happened but the latest suicide report from the VA had the known number at "20" a day. The following report has the VA saying that 22 a day number is tied to PTSD and TBI, without mentioning that there are a lot of other reasons for what is happening. Then again, they have no clue what to do about any of it.
That is what they are doing when they keep saying stupid stuff like their goal is to make people aware of a number instead of making people aware of how they can help change the outcome.
I have been in a lot of debates over this. When you ask them what their purpose is, they say it is to raise awareness, not change the outcome. When you ask who it is directed toward, they say the people of this country. When you tell them that civilians have their own problem with suicides increasing, they change the story. They then claim it is letting veterans know they are killing themselves. Problem with that is, they already know.They do not know they can heal.
So what the hell is this all about? It is insanity to the max!
If you are a veteran suffering instead of healing, know that if you #BreakTheSilence you can #TakeBackYourLife and defy death again! You survived what caused PTSD in the first place and can do a hell of a lot better than settling for being reminded of how many of your buddies were not helped by hearing other veteran killed themselves.
*******
Area events to benefit Mission 22 for veterans
Herald Banner
By Brad Kellar | Herald-Banner Staff
May 14, 2019
“Everything is going to Mission 22. We just wanted to make everyone aware of the number.” Franchesca Knight
Jeremy Matherly’s 2014 Mustang, Warfighter, is expected to be one of the entries at a May 18 event in Lone Oak, benefiting the Mission 22 organization
Courtesy photo
LONE OAK — As the Memorial Day holiday grows closer, multiple events are being scheduled in the area to raise awareness of how veterans face daily challenges with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has reported that approximately 22 veterans commit suicide each day after their deployment due to PTSD and TBI, which prompted the establishment of Mission 22, a nationwide organization dedicated to assisting veterans and their families cope with the issues.
Charles Barrow of Lone Oak is hosting a car show and 5K run in downtown Lone Oak on May 18 to benefit Mission 22, and said there is a personal reason behind the event.
“I suffer from PTSD,” he said.
Barrow, a veteran of the Seabees, spent 10 years in the U.S. Navy, with stops overseas in Japan, Guam, Cuba and elsewhere. The military life is a family tradition.
“Me, my dad and my uncle were all in Kuwait and Afghanistan at the same time,” Barrow said.
read more here
Corps Investigating After Marine O-5 Dies Days Before Retirement
Task and Purpose
By Paul Szoldra
May 10 2019
The Marine Corps is investigating the death of Lt. Col. Brett A. Hart, the executive officer of Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One, who was found dead at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma on April 19, a Corps spokesman told Task and Purpose.
"There is an open investigation into the incident," Capt. Christopher Harrison told Task and Purpose. "Further details will be available once the investigation is complete."
Hart, 48, was just days from retirement after 30 years of service when he took his own life, according to multiple sources. He left behind a wife, son and daughter. A memorial service for Hart was held at the Yuma Chapel on April 26, the same day his retirement ceremony had been scheduled.
"No rank is immune to suicide, not even an O-5 in the Marine Corps with over 30 years of service and one week away from retirement," Marine veteran Samuel Grayman wrote in a public post on Facebook. "RIP Lt. Col Brett A. Hart, it was an honor to serve under your command at VMMT-204."
read more here
Veterans try to combat depression, suicides after return to civilian life
Houston Chronicle
Robert Downen
May 11, 2019
But little of that prepared them for their new battle - the war with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide that has claimed 14 men from the battalion since they returned in 2006.
Smith’s funeral was the third that year. O’Neel felt like he’d failed him.
Danny O’Neel could not help but feel guilt as he stared over his former sniper’s casket.
As a 23-year-old squadron leader, he’d protected Adam Smith and the other soldiers of the Army’s 3rd Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment while deployed to one of Iraq’s most violent parts.
Sadr City in 2006 was “terrible,” “one of the most dangerous places on earth,” O’Neel said Saturday.
Some men lost limbs; nine lost their lives.
“We want to remind them all that they didn’t go through war alone,” Faun said. “They didn’t have gunfights alone. And they don’t need to battle things at home alone.”
read more here
This part is wrong
"Twenty-two veterans take their own lives every day, according to a study conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs between 1999 and 2011. That’s one every 65 minutes."
This is the chart that according to the VA is just a basis.
and the research was from just 21 states using limited data. Plus of the "known" deaths, notice that the number was "20" a day in 1999 and "22" a day in 2010? What you did not notice is that there were over 5 million more veterans alive in 1999~ and the number released in the latest report of "20" a day showed how all this "suicide awareness" has not helped! The percentages went up...not down!
Forgotten Warrior Memorial unveiled at Channahon State Park
The Herald News
By Brandon Grossi
May 13, 2019
“With 30 years in the military and 14 with the police, I started having dark thoughts. ... I was afraid of coming forward, afraid that I would embarrass the military and those who served under me. I was afraid I wouldn’t be a man if I admitted I needed help," he said. "There was a night I got into my car and put my service weapon against my temple. By the grace of God I came away from that and got help ... If you know anyone you think might struggle, I’m asking you, I’m begging you, talk to them.”
Twenty-two veterans take their own lives every day, according to a study conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs between 1999 and 2011. That’s one every 65 minutes.
K9s for Veterans and other veteran support organizations gathered with community members on Saturday to unveil and dedicate the Forgotten Warrior Memorial at Channahon State Park.
The circle of polished stone monuments and flags honors veterans who have lost their battles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as those who continue to struggle with mental warfare long after they return from the battlefield.
Roughly 250 people sat or stood before a temporary stage next to the memorial. Local leaders, veterans and mothers of fallen soldiers delivered remarks. By the second speaker, a light drizzle began to fall on the crowd.
“When I saw the weather report today, I was disappointed, but maybe this is better,” Channahon Mayor Missey Moorman Schumacher said from the podium. “Maybe this weather is more indicative and appropriate for the struggles of these veterans.”
read more here
Good intentions do not change much without good information. Want to help someone? Then ask them what they need and be prepared to help them get it!
Biomarker reveals PTSD sufferers at risk of suicide
Yale News
By Bill Hathaway
May 13, 2019
There are two FDA approved treatments for PTSD, both of which are anti-depressants. It can take weeks or months to determine whether they are effective. That can be too late for those who are suicidal, note the researchers.
Brains of individuals with PTSD and suicidal thoughts (top) show higher levels of mGluR5 compared to healthy controls (bottom).
The risk of suicide among individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is much higher than the general population, but identifying those individuals at greatest risk has been difficult. However, a team at Yale has discovered a biological marker linked to individuals with PTSD who are most likely to think about suicide, the researchers report May 13 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers used PET imaging to measure levels of metabotropic glutamatergic receptor 5 (mGluR5) — which has been implicated in anxiety and mood disorders — in individuals with PTSD and major depressive disorder. They found high levels of mGluR5 in the PTSD group with current suicidal thoughts. They found no such elevated levels in the PTSD group with no suicidal thoughts or in those with depression, with or without current suicidal thoughts.
read more here
Wonder if they ever thought to study people who are healing PTSD instead?
Can you imagine what that scan would look like or how much hope it would offer to people with PTSD to see that they could not just change their lives but actually change the way their brain works by filling it up with more hopeful thoughts?
Imagine if they took a scan of someone before they believed they were worthy of being forgiven and then one after they accepted the fact they were?
Why do researchers only track what is failing instead of tracking people who have managed to take control of their lives again?
According to Sebastian Junger...this is not happening
In June of 2016, I complained about the fact everyone seemed to be so excited about a book on PTSD and comparing Israel to the US. I have been complaining ever since, but it does not seem to do any good to tell the truth these days.
This is from an interview about his book "The Tribe"
While studies suggest that almost 20% of US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have symptoms of PTSD or major depression, Junger believes that this figure does not square with the comparatively low casualty rates relative to previous wars, or the fact that only one in 10 veterans experiences actual combat. To put the American experience in perspective, he points out that the Israel Defense Forces have, by some measures, a PTSD rate as low as 1% despite decades of intermittent war. In Israel, where around half the population serves in the military, the “thank you for service” mantra breezily offered to American veterans would be as meaningless as thanking somebody for paying their taxes.
This is the headline from Israel just released.
Trauma, PTSD Cases Skyrocket in Southern Israel, Says NGO NATAL
And this is what was in the report
Israeli security forces inspect the scene of a house in Moshav Mishmeret in central Israel that was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, on March 25, 2019.
Only 45 percent of those seeking help for trauma-related issues were civilians, according to the data for 2018; another 45 percent were IDF veterans between the ages of 21 and 34. The remaining 10 percent were older military veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
PTSD Patrol: Drive time toward divine
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 12, 2019
First, I want to say, Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there. We know what it is like to feel joy when our children are happy, and what it is like to grieve when they are hurting.
Right now there is a battle going on all across the country, but you may have only heard about one side doing more harm than good. They may have had good intentions, but much like warning Jesus gave about "fruits of their deeds" facts have proven raising suicide awareness equals what the Pharisees were doing.
Yet, while their intentions may have begun from God speaking to them to act, they chose to seek the glory by publicity stunts, having fun and doing pushups, instead of lifting up the spirits of the wounded and waiting for hope.
Others, like members of Point Man International Ministries have been doing the work God called them to do since 1984, quietly and humbly. Much like the 72 others Jesus sent with his Disciples no one knows our names but those in need see the results of our work.
Yesterday at the Veterans Reunion in Wickham Park I was trying to find members of Point Man and walking around in 90 degrees of heat. Not good for someone like me and I was drained to the point where I wanted to just faint. I had a hard time finding the strength to more one more step.
As I was looking for their tent, I came across some friends of mine with a golf cart. My buddy Jonnie drove me around, but it became clear that I would not be able to find them.
We drove past a tent that caught my eye. I wanted to go and talk to the man in the tent. You know what it is like when you are tugged to do something you may not really understand why you need to, but I have learned to just surrender to that strong pull a long time ago.
Gareth Burkinshaw was speaking to another man, and I looked at the brochures on his table. As I was reading, I thought he was on the right road and passionate about providing the hope that is so desperately needed.
I pretended to not listen to what he was saying to the man, until he took his hand to pray for him. Couldn't help it, I had a smile take hold of my face.
We talked for a bit and I was even more sure of the fact he was about doing the work of not just offering hope, but helping those in need find a way to heal. I asked Gareth if he wanted to do a video, and he agreed to meet a couple of hours later.
read more here
Final punishment: As Wisconsin National Guard officer Megan Plunkett took steps to leave the Guard after she said she was sexually assaulted three times, officials tried to revoke her benefits
Madison.com
Katelyn Ferral
May 11, 2019
“I was like, ‘I’m out, I just want to be left alone.’ I don’t want to cause more problems and then he came at me with fraternization. Are you ... kidding me?” she said. “He… assaulted me and how dare they accuse me of fraternization without asking me what happened?”
Eight months after the Wisconsin Army National Guard finished its investigations into 1st Lt. Megan Plunkett’s sexual assault claims, they tried to kick her out.
They did so even though Plunkett was already making her own way out. She was going through a medical discharge for post-traumatic stress disorder connected to alleged sexual assaults by two different men in two different units she served in.
She was not actively training at that time but was having a consensual relationship with an enlisted soldier in her unit. After the relationship ended, Plunkett said that man also sexually assaulted her. As it did in the first two cases, the Guard said her allegations were unsubstantiated, but they went one step further than that, finding Plunkett guilty of “fraternization.” In the military, officers are forbidden to have sexual relationships with enlisted soldiers.
As of today, Plunkett has won some measure of vindication from other agencies. A panel of out-of-state Army officers ultimately rejected the Guard's attempt to strip her benefits and status, though that ruling is not yet final. Separately, the Veterans Administration awarded her full service-connected disability compensation and medical benefits for PTSD, which they determined was caused by military sexual trauma she experienced in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
'Failure to Protect'
This week, the Cap Times is publishing “Failure to Protect,” a four-part investigation by reporter Katelyn Ferral into the Wisconsin Army National Guard and its treatment of soldiers who are sexually abused in its service. The series is centered on 1st Lt. Megan Plunkett, a soldier who says she was sexually assaulted by three different Guard colleagues over the course of three years.
After she brought those allegations forward, the Guard not only decided that they were unsubstantiated, but took multiple steps to punish her. Plunkett eventually brought her story to the Cap Times, and after a four-month investigation including access to extensive records of a type rarely available to the public, we are sharing her story with you. It is alarming, nuanced and sometimes graphic, but it is important to hear, coming amidst growing concern among government officials in Wisconsin and nationally about the number of military sexual abuse victims and their treatment.
Part one focused on Plunkett’s allegations, the Guard’s responses and also explains its procedures for responding to sexual assault allegations.
Part two took a close look at a yearlong, internal Guard investigation into Plunkett’s first unit, which concluded that it had a longstanding culture of sexual misconduct.
Part three examined the phenomenon of “military sexual trauma” as well as Plunkett’s often frustrating efforts to maintain consistent medical care and legal representation.
Part four (below) describes the Guard’s final — and at this point, unsuccessful — effort to strip Plunkett of military benefits even after she was in the process of getting a discharge for medical reasons.
read more here
He couldn't enlist after 9/11 because he was undocumented. At 35, he just finished boot camp
CBS News
BY CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ
MAY 10, 2019
Vargas' enlistment in the Army Reserve marked the culmination of a remarkable, nearly two-decades-long journey from undocumented immigrant to trail-blazing attorney and activist. It also served as a stark reminder that the country Vargas has fought so hard to serve in uniform is still leaving many — including his family — in the shadows.
Specialist Cesar Vargas, 35, a former undocumented immigrant, graduated from basic training in late April after unsuccessfully trying to enlist for nearly two decades.
CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. — One by one, the young soldiers stepped forward methodically, announcing their rank, last name and hometown.
By the time it was Cesar Vargas' turn, his brothers and sisters in arms in Charlie Company had mapped out locations across the U.S. and around the world — from Omaha, Nebraska and Brooklyn, to West Africa's Burkina Faso and Lima, Peru.
"Puebla, Mexico!" the 35-year-old Vargas shouted, stepping in front of his comrades, many of whom had recently graduated from high school.
The stark age difference between him and the other boot camp graduates was not lost on Vargas, now a specialist in the Army Reserve. Since he was a teenager, he's been trying to join the armed forces. "After 9/11 — as a New Yorker — I took it very personally," he told CBS News. "And while many of my friends were trying to enlist, I couldn't because of my immigration status."
read more here
How soldier-made 'The Gatekeeper' fights veteran suicide
We Are The Mighty
Shannon Corbeil
May. 09, 2019
Martinez is a combat veteran who saw first-hand the psychological effects war has on returning service members — and decided to do something about it.
There were more than 6000 veteran suicides each year from 2008-2016 alone.
'The Gatekeeper' cast and crew filming on location at the Los Angeles National Cemetery.
In contrast, the total number of fatal casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 is 6,995.
Suicide is a threat to our nation's service members — and in U.S. Army Paratrooper and creator Jordan Martinez's words, "Now, more than ever, we must tell stories about their experiences and remind others how important it is to never give up on the battle at home."
His passion for this topic is what inspired the USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate student to create The Gatekeeper, a psychological thriller that accurately, artistically, and authentically highlights the real struggles veterans face with PTSD and suicide.
This ain't no ordinary student film:
The Gatekeeper will be the first film in USC history to use motion capture technology for pre-visualization. Martinez has invested state of the art technology and equipment, incredible production locations, and professional cast and crew for this film, including Navy veteran and Stranger Things actress Jennifer Marshall and Christopher Loverro, an Army veteran and the founder of non-profit Warriors for Peace Theater.
read more here
