The emotional health challenges many American military children face
NBC
May 14, 2019
We first met 9-year-old Luca Cesternino in a powerful video of him reuniting with his dad after a long deployment.
Peter Alexander visited him and his family to learn more about the emotional toll of all the time apart -- and to hear the powerful message they’ve got for other military families.
PTSD: 'My best friend's death gave me back my life'
BBC
Ben Bryant
14 May 2019
Why do the rates of post traumatic stress disorder appear to be rising in veterans?
“John Paul Finnigan’s death gave me life. Something changed in me from that day. I put the drugs down, I went into treatment and got healthy, and it was all down to John Paul’s death. He gave me life.” Lee Harding
Warning: some upsetting content
"No. I’m not really going to go into that."
Lee Harding cups the side of his face with his palm and paws it softly. His other arm is folded across his chest. He is staring at the wall. His fingers brush a tattoo of two teardrops on his cheek.
"I can’t talk about that," he says quietly, without looking at me.
Lee’s home is unfinished. There are fillers and paints and building materials scattered around the rooms. The lounge has an easy chair and a sofa. There is no TV, there are no pictures and the walls need painting. Lee acknowledges all this with a shrug when I arrive, explaining that some kids had trashed the place before he moved in, and he’s been rebuilding it. It is a new beginning for the house in Merseyside.
It’s a new beginning for Lee too. He has been piecing his life back together over the last year, after he found himself caught in a spiral of drug use, which he says was an attempt to escape the trauma of what he witnessed in combat. Shortly after he returned from Iraq, Lee was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
As a soldier, he served on the front line from 2005 to 2008 with 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets, which later amalgamated with four other regiments to form 2nd Battalion, The Rifles. Recently, he has noticed that many of the people he was deployed to Iraq with have been struggling.
Several are in treatment for drug and alcohol dependency. And two members of his regiment – Kevin Williams, 29 and John Paul Finnigan, 34 – killed themselves last year, the latter one of Lee’s best friends. A third, Kevin Holt, 30, also died after a lengthy battle with PTSD.
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Police Officer Killed in Line of Duty Was Father of 4 and Army Veteran
The Island Packet Online
By Teresa Moss
13 May 2019
A Savannah, Georgia, police officer who was shot and killed Saturday night while responding to a robbery on Bull Street was a husband, father and military veteran, Savannah Police Department Chief Roy Minter said during a press conference Sunday night.
Sgt. Kelvin Ansari a Savannah, Georgia, police officer who served 21 years in the Army, was killed May 12, 2019, while responding to a robbery. He left behind a wife and four children ranging in ages from 5 to 25. Savannah Police Department
Sgt. Kelvin Ansari left behind a wife and four children ranging in ages from 5 to 25 years old, Minter said. He also was a 10-year veteran of the department and served 21 years in the Army.
"Last night, we lost a great man," Minter said. "We lost a man who spent a substantial portion of his life protecting our country and protecting our community. We lost a husband. We lost a father. We lost a leader."
Ansari and another officer were shot when approaching a vehicle matching a description connected to the robbery at about 8:10 p.m. Saturday, the police news release states. The other officer, Douglas Thomas, was shot in the leg. He was released from Memorial Hospital on Saturday night and is recovering at home.
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Medical Examiner: National Guard vet hanged himself in Cuyahoga County Jail
Cleveland.com
By Adam Ferrise
Posted May 13, 2019
Colbert spent two days in general population at the downtown jail and was moved Friday morning to a cluster of cell’s specifically for veterans. He hanged himself about 2:30 p.m.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner on Monday confirmed that a National Guard veteran hanged himself Friday in the Cuyahoga County Jail.
Nicholas Colbert, 36, died Friday in the Cuyahoga County Jail. He was a National Guard veteran.
Nicholas Colbert’s death was ruled a suicide, a medical examiner spokesman said in a statement. No other information was released.
Colbert served in the National Guard overseas and struggled with heroin addiction in the decade or so since his return, his family told cleveland.com.
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Four veterans take home their newly graduated ‘battle buddy’
Northwest Daily News
By Kaylin Parker
Posted May 11, 2019
NICEVILLE — Before Rocky came into his life in January, Tom Talbot, retired Air Force crew chief, struggled through his post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nightmares alone.
But now Talbot has Rocky, a service dog and loyal companion, that senses and smells when his owner is battling with the effects from PTSD. Talbot said Rocky will even wake him up when he’s having nightmares.
“That’s where that bond is. He knows if something is wrong with me,” Talbot said. “He’s like, ‘What’s going on? What’s a matter Dad?’ ”
Talbot was medically retired last year because of his PTSD. He said although he has a pet dog at home, the bond with Rocky is completely different.
“The first night he came home with me he jumped up on the bed, and that was it,” Talbot said.
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Kunia veterans blame possible exposure to toxic pesticides for mystery illnesses
Hawaii News Now
By Mahealani Richardson
May 13, 2019
Veterans who worked at Kunia intel site claim pesticide exposure caused cancer, other illnesses
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A group of more than 100 Kunia veterans are suffering from neurological issues, cancer, birth defects and other illnesses after they say they were exposed to toxic pesticides.
Tara Lemieux, 50, of Maryland suffers from hand tremors, memory loss and other health problems.
She believes it stems from her days as an Army specialist from 1991 to 1995 at the Kunia “Tunnel” Field Station near Schofield Barracks.
Lemieux says nine out of the 12 members of her unit have died young.
"They didn't tell us that this beautiful absolutely picturesque once in a lifetime duty station that there was another side to it," said Lemieux.
Back then, the three story underground National Security Agency facility sat below Del Monte pineapple fields.
Lamieux believes she was directly exposed to toxic chemicals in 1991 when a broken water well flooded the underground facility. She and a handful of others were waist deep in water that was oily and smelled like chemicals.
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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.
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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."
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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.”
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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.”
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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!
