Showing posts sorted by relevance for query ptsd on trial. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query ptsd on trial. Sort by date Show all posts

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Guard and Reserve, took their own lives in June, a rate of one a day


National Guard and Reserve suicide rates climbing

By DAVID GOLDSTEIN
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- Suicides among Army and Air National Guard and Reserve troops have spiked this year, and the military is at a loss to explain why.

Sixty-five members of the Guard and Reserve took their own lives during the first six months of 2010, compared with 42 for the same period in 2009. The grim tally is further evidence that suicides continue to plague the military even though it's stepped up prevention efforts through counseling and mental health awareness programs.

"Suicides among military personnel and veterans are at an epidemic rate, and it's getting worse," said Tim Embree, a former Marine who served two tours in Iraq and is now a legislative associate for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group.

The Army recently announced that 32 soldiers, including 11 in the Guard and Reserve, took their own lives in June, a rate of one a day and a level not seen since the Vietnam War, according to the military.

Seven of the suicides occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The worrisome trend is reflected in Missouri, where the state Army and Air National Guards have suffered six suicides so far this year, their highest total in a decade.

They account for nearly a quarter of the 27 suicides experienced since the Missouri Guard started keeping records in 2001.

"We're all devastated," said Col. Gary Gilmore, joint force chaplain for the Missouri Guard. "From their battle buddy right next to them all the way up the chain, each one has a tremendous personal impact and sense of loss."



Read more: National Guard and Reserve suicide rates climbing


This is why I need your help. They are dying, families are falling apart and none of it has to happen.

Between the two blogs I have there are over 20,000 posts. In the almost three years this blog has been up, there are 9,928 posts. This one makes 9,929. Of these there are 185 post on Military Suicides, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 2472, plus these;


PTSD (874)
PTSD advocate (8)
PTSD After Trauma (7)
PTSD and crimes (2)
PTSD and domestic violence (4)
PTSD and families (11)
PTSD and heart disease (1)
PTSD and homeless (1)
PTSD and military (4)
PTSD and police officers (5)
PTSD and suicide (11)
PTSD awareness (17)
PTSD Bill (1)
PTSD books (15)
PTSD CD (1)
PTSD claims (6)
PTSD clinic (1)
PTSD comes from bad training (1)
PTSD denial (2)
PTSD documentary (3)
PTSD drug (2)
PTSD education (2)
PTSD Final Battle of War (2)
PTSD firefighter (1)
PTSD gun owners (1)
PTSD honor (1)
PTSD I Grieve (6)
PTSD in children (1)
PTSD in firefighters (1)
PTSD in theater (1)
PTSD It's All About Soul (1)
PTSD linked to heart attacks (1)
PTSD marriages (1)
PTSD medal (1)
PTSD medications (9)
PTSD mobile center (1)
PTSD new claim rules (1)
PTSD Not God's Judgment video (2)
ptsd on trial (80)
PTSD prevention (2)
PTSD programs (1)
PTSD redeployed (5)
PTSD research (52)
PTSD screening (1)
PTSD secondary stressor (2)
PTSD service dogs (16)
PTSD signs (1)
PTSD siminar (1)
PTSD study (7)
PTSD support (17)
PTSD symptoms (1)
PTSD treatments (2)
PTSD veteran (2)
PTSD veterans in jail (4)
PTSD video (54)
PTSD web site (1)
PTSD Women’s and Family Support Group (1)
PTSD-TBI Guaranteed Review for Heroes Act (1)


In 2002 I self-published a book on living with PTSD For The Love of Jack. In 2005 I started to make videos so that no one would ever have to feel alone, hopeless or neglected ever again. While you see posts from 2005 on Screaming in an Empty Room, there were a lot more blogs and websites. Keep in mind I began this work in 1982. None of this has to happen!

I track the reports from across the country for one simple reason. It connects people so they can read about things happening all across the nation. If people think there is only one story out there about a soldier committing suicide, a veteran going homeless, a family falling apart, then they tend to not pay that much attention to it, yet when they read thousands of stories, they finally understand this is a huge story.

While readers of this blog are fully aware of my financial problems, that is not what I'm asking for help with right now. I'm asking you to send the links of my videos and my blog to everyone you know! Don't wait for someone else to help. The "powers that be" won't listen to someone like me because I have no money, no power behind me. I know I can't save all of them, can't keep every family together but I've managed to save a lot of them including my own. I don't just study this. I don't just track it. It's my life and I'll be damned if I don't try to give someone the same outcome I have today.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Veterans with PTSD on trial

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 12, 2022


My head is exploding right now. Can any reporter explain to me why they manage to always report on a veteran with PTSD committing crimes, use it in the headline, yet do not notice they do not report on everyone else committing crimes when they have PTSD too?

Apparently veterans with PTSD are on trial but reporters fail to see we all are!


This is the headline the headline that caused a massive headache!

"Veteran with PTSD pleads guilty to killing 2 men in SC in 2017, lawyers say" and is on Stars and Stripes.
Family members for King and McNair spoke on Friday before Melton's sentencing "about the tragedy and loss of their sons," Campbell said.
Mental illness and drugs

Melton served in the military and was stationed in Iraq in 2004, developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of that experience, said his defense lawyer, Justin Kata of the Giese Law Firm in Columbia.

Kata said Melton was later diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

At the time of the killings, "he had PTSD symptoms and he was self-medicating," Kata said.
According to the National Center for PTSD, there are 15 million Americans joining the PTSD club every year but reporters will only cover veterans committing sucide and crimes.
Facts about How Common PTSD Is
The following statistics are based on the U.S. population: About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives. About 15 million adults have PTSD during a given year. This is only a small portion of those who have gone through a trauma. About 8 of every 100 women (or 8%) develop PTSD sometime in their lives compared with about 4 of every 100 men (or 4%). Learn more about women, trauma and PTSD

Let's look at the results of this. 

Veterans have a hard time finding jobs because employers remember reading about a veteran like this one. Because reporters do not cover all the other survivors with PTSD, they have no idea that PTSD does not make people dangerous or even get them to contemplate the simple fact that they have probably already hired a lot of good employees with PTSD unknowingly.

Veterans getting all the attention is a billion dollar industry because people care about veterans. While that is a good thing, we should consider why there are no massive fundraisers for everyone else with PTSD not getting the help we all need.

People in law enforcement, fire departments, emergency responders, medical, you name the occupation, are ignored. No one seems to care.

I was guilty of this too. I spent decades focused on veterans when few others were. I thought that since there were so many other people, they'd have enough help but I did not know no one in the media was putting it all together. It never even dawned on me that after surviving over 10 events, I had a rare form of it. It also didn't dawn on two therapists I saw over the years.

Do we take care of veterans properly? NO!

Do we take care of anyone in need to mental health care properly? NO!

Until we get reporters to cover all of us so that we know how many of us there are after surviving, we will not be able to focus on what is helpful to others, that can help us too. We will not be able to inspire hope to others suffering from something only we can understand. While we may not be able to fully understand the causes if we did not experience it, we can understand what it is doing to them, and they can understand what it has done to us.



Kathie Costos on Amazon

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Friday, March 21, 2014

PTSD On Trial: Marine Sniper in Florida

Former Marine's ex-girlfriend bolsters his defense in deputy shooting
My FOX Tampa
Posted: Mar 20, 2014

TAMPA (FOX 13)
There's new evidence that could bolster the case of a former Marine who is accused of shooting a Hillsborough deputy in 2011.

Matthew Buendia says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and now his ex-girlfriend is coming to his defense.

Buendia is accused of shooting Hillsborough deputy Lyonelle De Veaux when she responded to a call on a domestic dispute.
read more here

PTSD on Trial" Marine sniper for shooting a Deputy

On the same subject these are some of the cases where PTSD was on trial

2007
Fort Drum Soldier awaits psychiatric treatment in jail
2008
Iraq War Veteran Pleads Not Guilty in Hart County Court
A former Army Ranger who'd been involved in the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch from Iraqi insurgents, Reed struggled to adjust to civilian life after three years of combat.
22-year-old Marine who served three tours of duty in Iraq faces a charge of capital murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a former live-in girlfriend.
You can find ever more PTSD On Trial cases here.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

CNN Puts PTSD and 9-11 NY Cops On Trial

CNN Puts PTSD and 9-11 NY Cops On Trial
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 7,2014

Everyone remember watching in horror as firefighters and police officers walked into the debris clouds of New York City that day. We watched for days as they searched for survivors and then bodies as hope evaporated almost quickly as the dust settled on everything. We watched as they stood silently saluting when one of their brothers bodies was removed carried under a flag.

By the time the news crews like CNN moved on, people stopped watching what was happening to these men and women. Claims for illnesses caused by working in the toxic piles and claims for PTSD were being fought for but hardly anyone noticed.

Two wars were started because of that day. Veterans paid and are still paying. The police officers and firefighters along with other first responders are paying. Just when you think it doesn't get any worse, this comes along.

If the allegations are true, then the justice system needs to prove it and they need to be held accountable. It is rare but it does happen. Not just now but there has been a history of frauds in every walk of life while people needing help the most often never receive it.

What boils my blood pressure is how CNN reported this. Pay close attention to the bold parts.

Prosecutor: More than 100 NYC police and firefighters indicted in PTSD scam
CNN
By Ray Sanchez. Susan Candiotti and Lorenzo Ferrigno
January 7, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Photos show the "disabled" first responders playing basketball, doing martial arts
More than 100 cops and firefighters have been indicted in a disability scam
The scam spanned more than two decades
Some claimed to have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after the 9/11 attacks

New York (CNN) -- Though the former New York City police officers and firefighters were supposed to be fully disabled -- some suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- photos in court documents released Tuesday painted a starkly different picture.

One man smiled behind shades and flipped the bird aboard a Sea-Doo personal watercraft. Another sat at the controls of a helicopter. A mixed martial arts instructor posed with arms crossed. They're seen riding motorcycles, hauling in massive sailfish, slugging softballs for the "NYPD Blues," taking jump shots, running half marathons and golfing, and even giving television news interviews while selling cannoli at Manhattan's famed San Genaro festival.

They are among the more than 100 retired New York City police and firefighters indicted in a massive Social Security disability scam involving hundreds of millions of dollars, authorities said. More than half the recipients received funds for fraudulent claims for PTSD in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the World Trade Center.

"We will chase down every penny that these dishonorable thieves fraudulently pilfered so that the truly heroic firefighters, police officers, medics, and civilians who actually risked their lives on September 11, 2001, and are now suffering because of it, can get the care that they critically need," said James T. Hayes, Jr., special agent-in-charge of Homeland Security Investigations New York.
The alleged scam spanned more than two decades, with law enforcement officers and firefighters coached on how to behave during doctor visits in order to qualify for full disability benefits, officials said.
read more here

The claim is for PTSD. Right? So what does it matter what they do physically especially when most of the things they were doing charities have been raising huge sums of money to supply them with?

Martial Arts and PTSD? Yes, many use that. Everything in the list above are things that people with PTSD not only can enjoy but are encouraged to do but CNN makes it seem as if they are not supposed to do any of this.

Riding motorcycles? Ever see a veteran or a cop on a motorcycle? Marathons, golfing, fishing and playing softball? Everything on this list are things they are told they should do to be active in recovery and what almost every charity across the country is raising boatloads of cash to provide.

As for helping these cops get through the system, that isn't anything new either.  For veterans there are veterans service officers helping veterans get thru the rigmarole of the claims process.

CNN just managed to not only put these cops on public trial, they did it to the veterans with PTSD as well. If you read Wounded Times you know exactly what experts recommend for the veterans to do as part of healing.  All of what is in the list is

Friday, February 27, 2015

Will American Sniper Trial Feed PTSD Stigma or Will Reporters Do It?

'American Sniper' trial likely to increase stigma of PTSD but this has been brought up by reporters for a long time. No, not just since this trial but for decades. It seems they just keep making statements without noticing they are the ones feeding the stigma instead of helping to end it.
"The jury got it right — that helps to some degree to destigmatize PTSD," said Harry Croft, a San Antonio-based psychiatrist who evaluates veterans with post-traumatic stress. "The bad news is: The headlines before the trial was that PTSD will be used as a defense. Unfortunately, that's the message many people will remember."

Pathetic! I am so sick and tired of reporters spinning this instead of actually telling folks what is really going on. If veterans think this famous trial will feed the stigma, they need to actually stop reacting and start thinking.

When Vietnam veterans came home, like generations before them, combat tagged along for the rest of their lives. They were not about go quietly into the abyss most folks were ready to help them into. They were called crazy, druggies, along with baby killers plus a lot of other things not fit for publication. They turned around, fought every established veterans service organizations, every politician, every psychiatrists and reporter getting in their way. The battle they fought after they came home managed to save a lot more lives, not just for their own sake but for all generations of veterans and civilians alike.

Crisis Intervention Strategies, By Richard James, Burl Gilliland gives credit to where credit is due for what happens when all of us are faced with traumatic events. Support groups and crisis intervention specialists ready to help us right away. (Ok, so I am one of those responders. I was certified in programs from 2008 to 2010 when I took just about every class I could.) These steps were established simply because Vietnam veterans pushed for all the research.

Then there are the Veterans centers. Those started in the 70's as well. Vietnam veterans didn't have a choice. They were not welcomed by other veterans. They did it without the internet and Facebook.

It wasn't until the Vietnam Memorial Wall was built that they were finally being honored for their service.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Inscribed on the black granite walls are the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing. Yet the Memorial itself is dedicated to honor the "courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country" of all who answered the call to serve during the longest war in U.S. history. The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Fund, Inc. is the 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 1980 to fund and build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Incorporated on April 27, 1979 by a group of veterans led by Jan C. Scruggs, who was wounded and decorated for service in Vietnam, the organization sought a tangible symbol of recognition from the American people for those who served in the war.

By separating the issue of individuals serving in the military during the Vietnam era and U.S. policy carried out there, VVMF hoped to begin a process of national reconciliation. Two members of the U.S. Senate, Charles Mathias (R-Md.) and John Warner (R-Va.), took the lead in Congress to enact legislation providing three acres in the northwest corner of the National Mall as a site for the Memorial. It was dedicated on Nov. 13, 1982.

If the stigma is still strong then you can thank reporters for feeding it all these years.
This came out in 2009.
Some military commanders still stuck on stupid when it comes to PTSD

"Our goal is to eradicate the stigma," he said. "We're not there yet."

Encouraging more soldiers to seek help, and training leaders to spot signs of trouble, have taken on new urgency since the fatal shooting last Monday of five U.S. service members at a counseling center at Baghdad's Camp Liberty.

Army Sgt. John M. Russell has been charged with five counts of murder. He was finishing his third tour in Iraq and had been ordered to seek counseling at the center, the Army said.

Sergeants on their third or fourth assignments to Iraq or Afghanistan are more than twice as likely to suffer mental health problems as those on their first assignment to a combat zone, according an Army study last year.


You can also thank them for letting military leaders get away with claims without being challenged like the one General Ray Odierno made back in 2014,
"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.

But it also has to do with where you come from. I came from a loving family, one who gave lots of positive reinforcement, who built up psychologically who I was, who I am, what I might want to do. It built confidence in myself, and I believe that enables you to better deal with stress. It enables you to cope more easily than maybe some other people.


This pathetic attitude was carried over as the public was finally made aware of what was going on in Warrior Transition Units and those seeking help faced the ultimate betrayal.

Guess Odierno didn't remember Ty Carter or the Medal of Honor he had around his neck after he not only showed "intestinal fortitude" in combat but then had to show it even more with his battle to heal PTSD to the point where he went on a mission to have the "D" dropped from the term to help fight the stigma being fed by the military all these years after Vietnam Veterans fought to have it treated.
In the battle that earned him the nation's highest military honor, an outpost in Afghanistan's Nuristan Province was surrounded by almost 300 insurgents who opened fire with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades the morning of Oct. 3, 2009. Fifty-three Americans were stationed there; eight were killed in battle, and 25 were wounded, including Carter, who suffered hearing loss, shrapnel injuries and a concussion.

Guess he forgot about Dakota Meyer and all the others over all these years coming out also with the Medal of Honor on their necks and trying to save lives proving that having PTSD was nothing to be ashamed of.

Guess he forgot about the Generals coming out admitting they struggled with PTSD and speaking up for soldiers with their own battles to heal and prove that it was ok to talk about PTSD.

The stigma of PTSD is alive because far too many people want it that way. If everyone understood what it was and how long it has been going on, then they'd all be fighting the right battles toward healing. But hey, why bother to point out that PTSD isn't just about veterans but because of them, civilians have treatment to recover from traumatic events as well?

UPDATE Example of Crisis Intervention teams and what they do.
Girl's police call exposes trail of death: 7 killed in 4 Missouri homes

Classes for the district's 1,000 students are in session Friday, in part to give them a sense of normalcy, he said.

"We do have counselors available, and other offers from other districts to help out. As a small town, we all cry together. My principals are all assessing the situation now, and we will make a determination on what to do next," Dill said.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Combat PTSD on trial in Tampa

Matthew's Dad reached out to Wounded Times for help in December.
PTSD on Trial: Marine Veteran's Dad pleads for help for all veterans with PTSD

Attorney: PTSD led to deputy shooting
MyFOX Tampa
Gloria Gomez
January 7, 2014

TAMPA (FOX 13)
Matthew Buendia is about to go on trial for attempted murder after shooting a deputy two years ago.

But long before the shooting, the former Marine was diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Doctors say it was from his time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Buendia saw combat, saw other people die in front of him," O'Brien said.

Then came the encounter that got him in trouble. In September of 2011, Deputy Lyonelle De Veaux showed up to Buendia's apartment to investigate claims he was beating his girlfriend.

Buendia fired nine shots at her, hitting her three times.

And she remembers what Buendia was worried about moments before the shooting.

"He asked me about a dog," De Veaux said.

O'Brien says Buendia had a dog Afghanistan that became his constant companion.

"His unit took in a dog that unfortunately had to be put down, and Matthew was the one who killed it," O'Brien said. "His unbelievable concern about a dog prior to him firing a weapon, it shows you he had no idea what he was doing."

O'Brien says what it all adds up to is this: Buendia is not a cold-blooded cop-killer.

"If Matthew Buendia did not suffer from PTSD and simply shot a police officer like Dontae Morris, then I completely understand saying he needs to take responsibility for it," O'Brien said.

Dr. Jeremy Gaies is a licensed psychologist who says when it comes to PTSD, anything can trigger a flashback. read more here

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Media Drives PTSD Stigma into Feeding Frenzie

We better get ready for more attacks on veterans as the members of the press try to get as much attention as possible with the killing of Chris Kyle starting. Headlines like this from NBC Bill Briggs makes PTSD veterans look like hopeless cases and wives like me shaking our heads since we live with you guys.
"Among hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans living with PTSD, some openly worry that a weighty trial built on an insanity defense will reignite PTSD's social stigma."

Well, stop right there. What about Gulf War veterans? What about Vietnam veterans? What about Korean War veterans? How about the remaining WWII veterans? Reporters do remember them. Don't they? After all, had it not been for all those other generations of veterans taking the lead, people would still be using the term "shell shock" instead of PTSD. Oh, by the way, that term, unlike the limited ability of the press to actually do some research, started in the 70's.

The VA is treating all those generations as well as the Afghanistan and Iraq veterans but the press likes to leave that part out. After all, then they'd actually have to actually do some work instead of just trolling Facebook for someone posting about what they think.

The facts on this are obvious to the rest of us living with PTSD connected to military service and that my friends, includes the families, just like mine.

According to them we don't stay married. We'll we've been married 30 years and managed to get through all these years, most of which were the worst years before the Internet got families like mine connected.

According to them, we're all supposed to be afraid of a famous trial fueling the stigma of PTSD. Well, since PTSD has been in the news for decades and reporters still haven't even come close to understanding it or doing much to remove the stigma, we were all sold out.

They want people to believe that PTSD is everything it is not while covering up what it is. You can read the rest of the article here if you feel the need.
Chris Kyle Trial: Vets Fear Insanity Defense Will Grow PTSD Stigma
NBC News
BY BILL BRIGGS
February 10, 2015

The trial of the man accused of killing Chris Kyle opens this week with a legal question wrapped in Hollywood irony.

Will post-traumatic stress syndrome become the legal defense for murdering the "American Sniper" — a man who helped other veterans battle the same affliction?

Attorneys for defendant Eddie Ray Routh, an Iraq War veteran, have asked prospective jurors whether they would consider an insanity defense. Moments after the 2013 shootings of Kyle and a friend, Routh's family told police that Routh was diagnosed with PTSD and stayed at a mental hospital.
read more here

Pretty much its the same crap we've heard all along just like the bullshit of this suicide bill being any different than what was already done or that program is new and improved. Its all bullshit!

Ok, so now for what they just don't have time to tell you. This is what veterans and families go through.

You grieve because there is a lot of good inside of you. Evil people don't grieve. You have PTSD because your life was on the line and the strength of your emotional core is much deeper than others. You feel good more than they do but that also means you feel pain more. You know, the kind of pain that fuels courage. That pull on everything inside of you to rush out into the middle of the street to save a kid and the balls to do it. To rush into enemy fire to recover the body of someone from your unit even though you knew he wasn't alive.
Vietnam veterans know exactly what you're going through and so do their families. Ask us and we'll clue you in on what reporters don't care about and all the internet instant experts don't have a clue about.

You are not supposed to forget about where you were, what you did, what you went through, what was done to you but you are supposed to think about it all in a different way so that you don't feel as if people are telling you for forget your buddies as if they didn't matter.

You can remember and find peace with those memories.

Sammy Davis, Vietnam Medal of Honor veteran tells it like it is.
As for the rest, don't expect the civilian population to understand a damn thing about any of this. They can't understand what only 7% understand because they lived it.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Euphoria over PTSD drugs needs to be over

Euphoria over PTSD drugs needs to be over
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 29, 2013

Euphoria is "a good ability to endure" but not heal. So why is it that medications seem to be the only answer?

More and more reports on research being done on medications but evidence has shown most have come with warnings to not use them when the patient has depression because suicidal thoughts could increase. Some researchers point to this and say another medication needs to replace "what is" and go for the alternatives of medical marijuana to ecstasy to treat PTSD. Basically the response from many psychiatrists has been if it feels good, take it.

The problem is that while medications for PTSD were supposed to be about getting the chemicals of the brain level so that therapy had a better chance to work, they have been used in replace of what is less expensive but takes more time, listening.

Recently CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta came out in favor of medical marijuana but the use of it is far from new. Many Vietnam veterans used it to relax and clam down. It was a lot better than alcohol for them because instead of passing out from booze, they simply fell asleep. Keep in mind that chemicals, legal or not, take effect in the brain and thus hit the whole body. "The high-profile doc, who is CNN's chief medical correspondent, apologized for "not looking hard enough" at the research on medicinal marijuana that suggests it can help treat conditions from chronic pain to post-traumatic stress disorder."

Ecstasy has also been in the news around the world. The push in the US has been going on for years and now it seems that Rick Doblin, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director of Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is trying to get Australia to get involved.

"Doblin wants Australia to replicate a successful trial in the United States in which 80 per cent of soldiers and emergency workers in a study were successfully treated for PTSD using MDMA, the main ingredient in ecstasy, and psychotherapy. The controversial but legal program involved 20 veterans, who had not responded to other treatments, taking MDMA twice during three months of psychotherapy."

Wow! A whole 20 people participated in the study and 80% of them were "successfully treated" by getting high. Not impressed considering that the National Institute of Mental Health says Approximately 7.7 million American adults age 18 and older, or about 3.5 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have PTSD. PTSD can develop at any age, including childhood, but research shows that the median age of onset is 23 years. About 19 percent of Vietnam veterans experienced PTSD at some point after the war.13 The disorder also frequently occurs after violent personal assaults such as rape, mugging, or domestic violence; terrorism; natural or human-caused disasters; and accidents.

Topped off with the fact the VA has 3.9 million veterans collecting disability compensation with hundreds of thousands receiving treatment for PTSD and another huge percentage of veterans with PTSD still not seeking treatment. The assumption has been that less than half of our veterans with PTSD seek help.

This isn't new. Back in 2004 NBC News had a report that 1 in 8 soldiers back from combat had PTSD but less than half sought treatment. The CBO released a report in 2012 with 103,000 OEF OIF veterans with PTSD, 8,700 with TBI and 26,600 with both.

When you look at the hard numbers a research project on 20 veterans is not even yawn worthy.

Most of the veterans seeking help have a need to feel better and they are ready to grab at anything that does it, no matter how long it lasts. They make irrational decisions clinging onto whatever works for "now" hoping it is what does the trick for the long haul only to discover it didn't last long enough. They replace that fix with something else, then something else but the end result is always the same. It wears off and most of the time they feel worse than they did before. Why? Because while they were trying to fill the void and numb the pain, PTSD had rested up enough to get stronger.

Drugs, legal or otherwise, are not the answer especially when there is time to reverse most of what PTSD does. Early on treatment with medication blended with talk therapy, physical therapy and spiritual intervention reverses most of what PTSD does but even a perfect blend of all of these treatments do not cure it.

If too much time goes by, life gets in the way of healing and more parts of the human are hit including the brain itself. Scans have shown changes in the brain hit by PTSD. It hits the nervous system, heart, digestive organs and on and on. Even chronic cases of PTSD veterans can live better lives by combining treatments, so it is not hopeless but when we pretend that drugs are the answer the reality is, they are part of the problem when they are the only game in town.

Friday, August 22, 2008

PTSD on Trial:Bounty Hunter blames PTSD

Bounty hunter says stress disorder, memory loss hinder testimony in 2004 shootings on Soboba reservation
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, August 21, 2008

By TAMMY J. McCOY
The Press-Enterprise

A bounty hunter Thursday told defense lawyers he has post-traumatic stress disorder and memory problems when questioned about discrepancies in his testimony and statements to police in 2004 after more than 20 shots were fired on the Soboba Indian Reservation.

Matthew Hernandez said he suffers from the disorder as a result of his wartime service in the Army. He said he has problems with short-term memory when asked what he saw and heard before gunfire erupted at a mobile home Aug. 25, 2004.

Hernandez is one of the fugitive-recovery agents, commonly called bounty hunters, who went to arrest defendant Dino A. Moreno after the Coachella resident failed to show up for court in a felony evading case.

Moreno, 42, and his 29-year-old girlfriend, Shaundeen Theresa Boniface, are on trial at the Southwest Justice Center. Both are convicted felons who face life in prison if convicted of charges that include attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic weapon.

go here for more
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_E_trial22.4a46145.html

Felons shot 21 times at bounty hunters in 2004 incident on Soboba reservation, jurors told
By TAMMY J. McCOY
The Press-Enterprise
Two convicted felons fired 21 shots at four bounty hunters who went to a mobile home on the Soboba Indian Reservation in 2004 to arrest a man already charged with evading arrest, a prosecutor told jurors Monday.
The lead bounty hunter kicked down the home's door Aug. 25, 2004, in an attempt to arrest Dino Allen Moreno, now 42, unaware that there was a small arsenal inside the home.
The bounty hunters took cover when Moreno and his girlfriend opened fire with semiautomatic weapons and Moreno was able to get away, prosecutor Chris Bouffard told jurors during opening statements in the trial of Moreno and Shaundeen Theresa Boniface.
"He was more than prepared ... Mr. Moreno was telling people he wasn't going back to jail this time around," Bouffard said.
Moreno had failed to show up for court in connection with a 2003 case for evading arrest, according to Riverside County court records.
Boniface, 29, was arrested at the mobile home while Moreno, a Coachella resident, was arrested two months later. Both are on trial at the Southwest Justice Center, facing life in prison if convicted of charges including attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic weapon, Bouffard said outside of court.
go here for more
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_bounty19.4a8103e.html

Friday, January 11, 2008

Study: September 11 Caused PTSD, Extreme Anxiety



Study: September 11 Caused PTSD, Extreme Anxiety
Study: September 11 Caused PTSD, Extreme Anxiety
Associated Content - Denver,CO,USA
By Article Writers Inc., published Jan 11, 2008



It has been almost seven years since the tragedy of 9/11 and yet it continues to haunt us and affect our lives. I shall never forget that day as I was in New York when the horrendous terrorist attacks took place. I stood in horrified silence as the World Trade Center towers crumbled into the earth unleashing enormous plumes of dust and debris. All I could feel was my heart sinking into deep despair; a sense of helplessness, fear, and frustration. I was not alone. Many people who witnessed the attacks either in person or on the TV felt that incredible shock and anxiety after seeing the country's institutions and symbols of power attacked and destroyed; our notion of American invulnerability shattered.

From that day on, the catastrophic attacks have taken a toll on the health of many individuals. According to several research studies, the psychological trauma of 9/11 and the continued stress and anxiety over false terrorist alarms has led to an increased risk of heart ailments including heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes.

Dr. E. Alison Holman of the University of California and her team conducted a study, released on Jan. 7, on the mental and physical health of 2,592 individuals (who had either witnessed the terrorist attacks in person, or saw it live on TV, or had not seen any live coverage) three years after 9/11 happened. Her team found that within a few days after the attacks, 10.7% of the individuals suffered from some form of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) including symptoms of edginess, depression, extreme anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and even fear of loud noises. Around 53% of individuals who suffered from extreme anxiety were found to be more susceptible to cardiovascular ailments including heart disease and high blood pressure.

click above for the rest

After 9-11 the reporters took a look at survivors. They looked at the children and they looked at emergency responders.

Paging Dr. Gupta blog

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Flashing back to 9/11

Today, on this sixth anniversary of 9/11, the country will mourn together. For most of the country, it will be a reminder, an anniversary, but for thousands of others it could be psychologically devastating. It could cause something known as PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms can be awful and the research shows us the reminders don't help.

We know on average 4 percent of the general American public suffers from PTSD, but one in eight 9/11 rescue and recovery workers had PTSD, even years after the attack, according to the World Trade Center Health Registry. We know firefighters developed PTSD at 2 times the rate of police officers, but both groups continue to suffer today. We also know that PTSD is an anxiety disorder that is marked by sudden and intense fear, along with feelings of desperation, hopelessness and outright horror. We know it can be difficult to treat.

During the last six years, there has been a growing body of research on PTSD, looking at the survivors of 9/11 and veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, researchers are looking at propranolol, a blood pressure medication, as a possible treatment for PTSD. The idea is that this medication will block the adrenaline surge associated with a traumatic event. If you can block that release of adrenaline, the terrible memories may not be seared into the brain, and that might reduce the risk of future PTSD. There are some emergency rooms that now give the medication immediately after a traumatic event. There also is video game technology used for returning veterans. I tried it out myself and understood the premise that by exposing someone to previously traumatic events in a controlled setting with psychologists standing by, you could learn what is specifically traumatic, and deal with it. (Watch Video)



http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging.dr.
gupta/2007/09/flashing-back-to-911.html




New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
'Virtual 9/11' Brings Ground Zero Survivors Real Healing

By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, November 20, 2006; 12:00 AM



MONDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Psychologists estimate that hundreds, even thousands, of people directly affected by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, are still crippled by post-traumatic stress disorder.

Could a virtual-reality "revisiting" of that horrific day actually help them?

New York City psychiatrist Judith Cukor believes that it can.

"We are getting tons of calls for 9/11-related post-traumatic stress disorder -- it's five years out, and we are still seeing people who have never had treatment," said Cukor, an instructor in the department of psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "A lot of people have had traditional treatment, too, but it's not helping."

Cukor is supervising a unique clinical trial that uses high-tech virtual reality to help fight the more stubborn cases of 9/11-linked post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. "We're seeing very positive results here, in terms of people finally getting better," she said.

For people who suffer from the emotional numbness, terrifying flashbacks, nightmares and avoidance behaviors of PTSD, "exposure therapy" remains the gold-standard treatment. The therapy involves patients being asked to imagine in detail the past event that caused them such pain.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
content/article/2006/11/20/AR2006112000316_pf.html







Hispanic Community


Release Date:May 15, 2006, 12:01 AM US Eastern time

PTSD Affected Hispanic Patients in New York for Months After 9/11

By Joel R. Cooper, Contributing Writer
Health Behavior News Service


Low-income, immigrant, primary-care patients in New York City continued to suffer the psychiatric effects of 9/11 long after the original terrorist attack, says a new study.

“Many of these patients, for cultural or economic reasons, shun traditional mental health services, and rely heavily on their primary care doctors for the provision of mental health intervention and treatment,” said lead author Yuval Neria, Ph.D., a professor at Columbia University and co-director of the Center for the Study of Trauma and Resilience, New York State Psychiatric Institute.

In another finding, the study negated the notion that post-traumatic stress disorder may develop among those experiencing terrorist events second-hand, such as while watching media coverage of the attacks on television. PTSD did not show up in individuals only indirectly exposed to the 9/11 attacks — unless they were at increased risk for the disorder to begin with.

For the study, published in the latest issue of General Hospital Psychiatry, researchers screened adult primary care patients for PTSD in the months following the 9/11 attacks. The patients — 930 men and women ages 18 to 70 — were seen at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center. The majority were low-income immigrants — primarily Hispanic.


“Many in the population under study would be reluctant to seek psychiatric help for fear of being stigmatized within their communities, even though they are, in fact, at increased risk for PTSD and its associated illnesses,” Ng said.

http://hbns.org/getDocument.cfm?documentID=1269



If you look back you will find the news reports for the earlier studies done. Most of the time the emergency responders have a higher level of PTSD because of how often they come into traumatic situations. Police have a higher level. Combat forces even a great level than that. As with all wounds there are degrees of how much damage is done.

With all traumatic survivors there is a time difference between when the event happens and the trauma hits. Some will have mild PTSD, be able to more or less cope with it. Some will spiral into full blown PTSD symptoms right away. Others will experience a slow progression of it. Others will not experience the problems until many years later when a "secondary stressor" hits.

We need to look at all causes of trauma to understand what the combat forces are going through because for them it is not just one incident but many of them, more horrific and compounded for the term of deployment.

Monday, April 3, 2017

Vietnam Veterans PTSD Research Everything Old is "New" Again

OMG....Yet another "new" study on the link between PTSD and the whole veteran!

"The mind and body are intimately linked, which is why there needs to be a change in the way post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is treated, say Australian researchers."

The date this came out was today, April 3, 2017.

A world-first study of 300 Vietnam veterans, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, has shown PTSD – a condition that affects an estimated one million Australians – is not just psychological.
It wrecks havoc on the body too, impacting the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as a sufferers’ sleep.
Based on the findings PTSD should be considered a “full systemic disorder” rather than just a mental health problem, says Miriam Dwyer, CEO of the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation.
Yes, it really did say that. It seems as if it has shown up all over the Internet as if no one bothered to even check to see if it was something new or not.


This was done in 1999 and is just one of many...

Combat Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, and Health Behaviors as Predictors of Self-Reported Physical Health in Older Veterans

SCHNURR, PAULA P. Ph.D.1; SPIRO, AVRON III Ph.D.2

We used path analysis to model the effects of combat exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and health behaviors on physical health. Participants were 921 male military veterans from the Normative Aging Study. Their mean age at time of study was 65. Measures of combat exposure, PTSD symptoms, smoking, and alcohol problems were used to predict subsequent self-reported physical health status. Both combat exposure and PTSD were correlated with poorer health. In path analysis, combat exposure had only an indirect effect on health status, through PTSD, whereas PTSD had a direct effect. Smoking had a small effect on health status but did not mediate the effects of PTSD, and alcohol was unrelated to health status. We conclude that PTSD is an important predictor of physical health and encourage further investigation of health behaviors and other possible mediators of this relationship.

This is on the spiritual connection from National Institute of Health 2008 and check the dates referenced.

Little attention has been given to spiritually based approaches for managing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in combat veterans. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a growing need for more complementary and holistic therapies to assist combat veterans returning from deployment. Surveyed veterans report that they would use complementary approaches to health care if such programs were available ().We developed a spiritually based group intervention that teaches a series of focusing strategies using mantram repetition, slowing down, and one-pointed attention (, ). A mantram is a Sanskrit word meaning “to cross the mind” and is sometimes referred to in the West as “holy name repetition” () or in the East as “mantra repetition.” Repeating so-called sacred words such as “Om Mani Padme Hum” from Buddhism or holy names such as “Rama Rama,” “Jesus Jesus,” or “Ave Maria,” have been associated with reduced arousal, respirations, enhanced cardiovascular rhythms (), and decreased stress and depression (). Unlike other meditative practices, mantram repetition does not require any specific posture, quiet surroundings, eyes closed or any religious/spiritual beliefs. Mantram repetition is easily learned, personal, portable, invisible, and can be readily practiced without changing one’s activities or environment. 


The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility, effect sizes, and patient satisfaction of this spiritually based group intervention on mantram repetition in a sample of combat veterans with PSTD. The specific aims were to evaluate (a) recruitment and retention of veterans in the program, (b) effect sizes for PSTD symptom severity, psychological and quality of life outcomes, and (c) level of patient satisfaction of the program. These preliminary findings will be used to conduct a larger randomized controlled trial.
Background and Significance
PSTD is highly prevalent in military veterans (). With the War in Iraq, an estimated 12% to 13% of service personnel have met PTSD criteria following combat (). Standard treatments for PTSD include medication, cognitive-behavioral and exposure-based therapies, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), relaxation or combinations of these (). Very little attention, however, has been devoted to the spiritual aspects of managing PTSD or studying complementary therapies to mitigate symptoms. We consider the mantram program as spiritual, not religious, because it does not require an institution, congregation, or some formalized group to be practiced.
The mantram intervention program has been studied in veterans with chronic illness (), health care employees (; ), and HIV-infected adults (). Veterans and employees have reported significant reductions in stress, anxiety, anger and improvements in spiritual well-being and quality of life (; ; ; ). HIV-infected adults have reported significant reductions in anger and increased spiritual faith/assurance (). 

There are actually older studies, but you get the point. None of the so called "new" studies on PTSD are new at all!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

PTSD On Trial:Former Army Captain Sargentt Binkley

A couple of things to think about when reading more and watching the video.

Binkley is a West Point Grad. No small task.
He's a combat veteran having served in Bosnia and Honduras, decorated for his service and came home at a time when no one was talking about PTSD. (Ok, aside from a very few that have been at this all along.) The military did not diagnose PTSD. They had him on painkillers. That is what he decided to take from the pharmacy, painkillers. He should not go free or have a get out of jail free card, but there needs to be every aspect taken into account. Does he really have PTSD? Then that needs to be discovered and what level it is because that does change the way people think. Next, if he does have PTSD, then he should be put into treatment programs and have to help accountable for going to them. That's what they do in Veteran's Count. Jail for a man who was not only willing to lay down his life for his country, decorated for doing what he did, becoming wounded on top of that, is not the kind of person to toss into jail. There has to be accountability for the victims, as with all of these cases, because they were innocent bystanders paying the price for yet one more veteran we did not take care of. That's my two cents on this.

Former Army Captain charged with robbery
Former Army Captain charged with robbery
Monday, December 08, 2008 7:24 PM
By Vic Lee
SAN JOSE, CA (KGO) -- A West Point graduate who became a decorated Army Captain is now on trial in San Jose.

He's charged with armed robbery, but his lawyer says his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and should not be held responsible for his actions.

Former Army Captain Sargentt Binkley looked fit and healthy on the opening day of his trial for armed robbery. He has been in a court-approved rehab program for a year.
click link above for more

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Reservist's Shaken Baby Death Puts PTSD on Trial

There are many quotes that could have been used on telling the story of what happened to a family after deployment including this one.
"Therefore, the number-one thing we can do to help vets is to prevent avoidance," said Phipps, who admitted that she's not offering a magic bullet. "They don't need to hear 'Get over it,'" she said. "We should be saying, 'Get through it.'" Kelly Phipps, Ph.D.
Jerry Davich wrote Blaming war for actions at home elicits different kind of anger October 11, 2104 with this quote.

I have no pity, compassion or explanation for monstrous abusers — let’s face it, they’re accused of killing babies. That’s not acceptable anywhere and most people would agree that people convicted of that should first rot in prison and then rot in hell.

I’d be surprised if Duron’s attorney doesn’t use the PTSD claim as his lead defense strategy in court. Then again, as one full-blown PTSD sufferer told me for this column, even combat-related PTSD does not remove the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

Felix Duron is accused of shaking his baby to death
There’s a telling line that jumps off the page in the probable cause affidavit against Felix Duron, regarding how he allegedly shook to death 2-year-old Bentley Mihal.

“Duron admitted he was in a state of extreme anger and resentment and shook B.M. (Bentley Mihal) like he would ‘shake a man,’ ” the Sept. 25 affidavit states.


What is missing, perhaps the most important fact of all is what else was happening when Duron was deployed.
Such violent anger couldn’t be seen in Duron in 2011, when the then 24-year-old U.S. Army Reserve soldier returned home from a year in Afghanistan. Along with 160 other soldiers, Duron smiled broadly while cradling his infant son for the first time.

This was three years after the DOD told the entire country they were training servicemen and women to be "resilient" with their Comprehensive Soldier Fitness on the heels of Battlemind.
14. Januar 2008
Battlemind: Preparing Soldiers for combat, home life
By Susan Huseman USAG STUTTGART
STUTTGART – Today, every Soldier headed to Iraq and Afghanistan receives Battlemind training, but few know the science behind it.

Dr. Amy Adler, a senior research psychologist with the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit-Europe, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, visited Patch Barracks to break down the program, which is a system of support and intervention.

Not every Soldier who deploys downrange is at risk for mental health problems. The main risk factor is the level of combat experienced, Adler explained to her audience, comprised predominantly of medical, mental health and family support professionals.

Army studies show the greater the combat exposure a Soldier encounters, the greater the risk for mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anger and relationship problems. When Soldiers first return home, they may not notice any problems; sometimes it takes a few months for problems to develop.

It turned out that most did not know what they needed to know about Combat and PTSD.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of the families surveyed were not told about the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Ninety-two percent (92%) of the Servicemembers surveyed were not tested nor had no knowledge of being tested for PTSD.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of the Servicemembers surveyed either suffer from PTSD or are unsure if they suffer from PTSD.

Forty-one percent (41%) are not getting treatment for PTSD

Battlemind came with a warning that it could cause problems back home.
'Battlemind' is the Soldier's inner strength to face fear and adversity with courage. Key components include: - Self confidence: taking calculated risks and handling challenges. - Mental toughness: overcoming obstacles or setbacks and maintaining positive thoughts during times of adversity and challenge.

Battlemind skills helped you survive in combat, but may cause you problems if not adapted when you get home.

In other words, unlike Davich's attitude, the fault belongs to the military. What they claimed they were doing is being proven all over the country as more and more of these men and women change from being willing to die for the sake of someone else, into someone accused of harming someone else.

They don't get the help they need while in the military and they don't get what they need when they come home.

Duron needs to stand trial for what he is accused of doing. When does the DOD stand trial for what they failed to do? When does Congress stand trial for what they failed to pay attention to repeatedly? When do military families get the information they needed and were promised by the DOD?

A veteran harming someone else is rare considering there were over 2 million serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. A veteran taking their own life happens more often.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

PTSD on Trial: Oceanside Iraq Veteran

PTSD on Trial:

Iraq war vet with PTSD gets 16 to life for killing his friend
San Diego Union Tribune
Teri Figueroa 
December 15, 2017

A former Marine who served two tours in Iraq was sentenced Thursday to 16 years to life in prison for stabbing a friend to death in the friend’s Oceanside home as the victim’s two toddlers slept.
An Iraq war veteran with PTSD was sentenced Thursday to 16 years to life in prison in the 2015 stabbing death of a friend in garage of the victim's Oceanside home. Inside, the victim’s two toddlers were asleep on a couch. (Teri Figueroa)
Last month, a North County jury convicted David Anthony Strouth, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, of second-degree murder for killing Brad Garner, 49, while the two were hanging out in Garner’s garage.
Strouth, who had started cutting himself, asked the neighbors and responding police to kill him, according to the prosecution’s filing.
Police found Strouth’s bloody K-bar knife — with the inscription Operation Iraqi Freedom — in the garage. 
At trial, Strouth testified that it had been self-defense, telling the jury that Garner had come at him with the knife, and they struggled, but Strouth won control of it.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza said Friday he was pleased with the outcome of the case. He said in October that “the verdict demonstrated that PTSD may explain but does not excuse an unprovoked killing.”
read more here 

Friday, December 7, 2007

Trauma Mama's suicide attempt puts PTSD on trial

Soldier's suicide attempt may put psychological battle scars on trial

By Angela Carella
Assistant City Editor

Published December 6 2007


STAMFORD - The case of 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside is becoming a bellwether for how the U.S. Army handles soldiers who are psychologically injured in Iraq and other battlefields.

Whiteside, a 25-year-old reservist who spent part of her childhood in Stamford, had six years of exemplary service until a year ago, when she was a platoon leader in the 329th Medical Company, running an ambulance service at a detainee prison near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.


Now Whiteside is waiting to hear whether she will be tried for attempted suicide and endangering the life of another soldier. If convicted, she could spend the rest of her life in prison. A decision is expected this week.Roger Crossland of Fairfield is a retired Navy officer who knew the Whitesides when they lived on Woodridge Drive South off Long Ridge Road in Stamford for four years until 1991. Crossland said he wants people to know the story of Elizabeth Whiteside."It seems to me she should get a medal, not a court martial," he said.

According to reports from the Washington Post, Whiteside supervised nine medics on the night shift who transported injured U.S. troops and Iraqis around the prison, which has a hospital. Detainees in the prison have included Saddam Hussein, Ali Hassan Majeed - "Chemical Ali" - and suspected terrorists, the Post reported.

Whiteside, nicknamed Trauma Mama by her soldiers, ate one meal a day, slept four hours twice a day, and worked seven days a week. On Dec. 30, Saddam was taken from his cell to be executed and, the following day, thousands of detainees rioted and had to be subdued with rubber bullets and tear gas.
click post title for the rest

Message from DOD to soldiers, get wounded and instead of having your wound treated, you are put on trial! Sometimes it is a clear trial. Most of the time it is trial by the DOD and the VA to prove you deserve to have your combat wounds taken care of.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Isn't it time for Congress to pledge allegiance to veterans?

By the time NBC News got around to reporting on how the DOD and the VA were unable to prove PTSD care worked, it was far too late for thousands of our veterans.
Combined, the two departments spend $3.3 billion annually on medications and therapies meant to curb or cure Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Some people were shocked by this report but we were not. They have been repeating the same mistakes over and over again while ignoring the things that had worked going back decades.

This was the biggest scandal that topped off years of neglect as veterans were surviving war but not being back home with PTSD and the then House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman accuses VA of criminal negligence.
Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's mental health director, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that the e-mail was in poor tone _ even though the body contained "appropriate, healthy dialogue" about the data.

"I deeply regret the subject line," Katz said. "It was an error and I apologize for that."

The e-mail claims 12,000 veterans a year attempt suicide while under department treatment. "Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" the e-mail asks.

The e-mail was among those recently disclosed during a trial in San Francisco that suggested some at the VA might have been attempting to hide the number of attempted suicides by those under the agency's care. Its disclosure prompted two Democratic senators to call for his resignation.

At the White House, press secretary Dana Perino said Bush has "full confidence in Secretary Peake and believes that he is handling it appropriately."

"President Bush is very concerned about the mental health of our veterans and has made sure that we are doing everything we can to make sure that American veterans are getting the care that they need," Perino said. "He's also been very troubled by the idea that veterans would feel that they wouldn't be able to express or ask for help if they are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression of another sort or any type of mental disorder. Because we have resources to be able to help them and they deserve the very best that we can provide."

Timothy K. Israel, an Iraq veteran with PTSD committed suicide three days after Congress "listened" to another panel during another hearing about the same problems they had "listened" to for decades. They thought they'd just toss more money at the problem.
By a vote of 409-4 the House today passed legislation funding the Department of Veterans Affairs for FY 2009. The bill (HR 6599) includes $3.8 billion for mental illness treatment and $584 million for substance abuse treatment in the VA, significant increases over current year funding. Overall, the Veterans Health Administration budget is set at $40.8 billion for FY 2009 -- $1.6 billion more than the President requested and $3.9 billion more than current levels. It is projected that the VA will serve 5.8 million veterans in 2009.

But for the best clue on what was done leading up to devastation was this release

Opening Statement of Hon. John J. Hall, Chairman, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
Good Morning Ladies and Gentleman:

Would you please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance? Flags are located in the front and back of the room.

Today we are here to consider legislation, the Compensation Owed for Mental Health Based on Activities in Theater Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Act or the COMBAT PTSD Act, H.R. 952. During the 110th Congress and most recently during an oversight hearing held on March 24, 2009, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs revisited Congress’ intent in establishing presumptive provisions to provide compensation to combat veterans under Section 1154(b) of title 38.

We have heard testimony on how Congress in 1941, when it adopted the original provisions under Section 1154, seemed to explicitly express its desire to overcome the adverse effects of not having an official record. Moreover, that it wanted to be more liberal in its service pension law by extending full cooperation to the veteran when it enacted this provision.

However, based on this Subcommittee’s review, it seems that VA has acted to thwart the congressional intent of Section 1154(b) with its internal procedures for adjudication, primarily those contained in its M-21-1s and General Counsel opinions. This has resulted in VA being more restrictive in its application of section 1154(b) by placing an unnecessary burden on veterans diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder – PTSD and other conditions - to prove their combat stressors. Instead of helping these veterans reach an optimal point of social and emotional homeostasis, as described in the RAND Report, Invisible Wounds of War, VA’s procedures are an obstacle to this end--inflicting upon the most noble of our citizens a process that feels accusatory and doubtful of their service.

We also know from the RAND report that one out every five service members who served in OEF or OIF suffers from symptoms of PTSD. A large portion of these claims unnecessarily comprise VA’s claims backlog as VBA personnel labors to corroborate the stressors of combat veterans. As the Institute of Medicine stated in 2007 in its seminal report on PTSD: the process to adjudicate disability claims is complex, legalistic and protracted, and particularly difficult for veterans because of the stresses and uncertainties involved while facing skeptical and cynical attitudes of VA staff. As I think most will agree, this statement goes double for veterans filing PTSD claims, which require additional evidence of exposure to a stressful event while serving in combat.

This is an injustice that has gone on six decades too long. The hoops and hassles veterans must endure today appear to be far beyond Congress’ imagination when it authorized the 1933 and 1945 Rating Schedules, which simply required the notation of an expedition or occupation for a combat presumption to have existed.

That is why I reintroduced my bill the COMBAT PTSD Act, H.R. 952 to try to rectify this wrong. My bill would do so by clarifying and expanding the definition of “combat with the enemy” found in section 1154(b) to include a theater of combat operations during a period of war or in combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities. This language is consistent with other provisions of title 38 and those contained within the National Defense Authorization Act. I also firmly believe that this bill is consistent with the original intent of Congress in 1941 and should not be viewed as adding a new entitlement. I am grateful to my 42 colleagues who are already cosponsors of HR 952.

I am glad to welcome to this hearing the veteran service organizations and legal representatives who can shed more light on the difficulties the current statute interpretation creates for so many of our men and women whose service in combat theaters goes unrecognized and the impact denials have had on their lives. I am particularly honored to have famed author and my constituent Norman Bussel join us today. Norman is an ex-POW from World War II and a volunteer service officer for the American Ex-Prisoners of War who has first-hand knowledge of the hardships that many of his fellow veterans face when filing PTSD and other claims for disability benefits.

I also look forward to hearing more from the Department’s witness on how this provision could be better tailored to meet its evidentiary needs to properly adjudicate claims while alleviating the often overwhelming evidence burdens that stymie many of our combat veterans through no fault of their own.

The 111th Congress shares the same responsibility to disabled veterans as its colleagues of the 77th Congress. The vision then was to ease the bureaucratic burdens placed on returning war veterans, so that they would receive the benefits they deserve. My hope is that we will enact H.R. 952 to restore this noble end.


But what? What is their excuse? What has all the other Bills and hearings led to? More dying. More waiting. More suffering and far more excuses than solutions.