Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Two programs assist veterans with disability


Vero Beach Press-Journal - Vero Beach,FL,USA

By Allan Appel
Monday, June 30, 2008


The Veterans Administration administers two disability programs designed to help veterans with support and benefits.

Eligibility for the Veterans Disability Compensation Program is not based on financial need. Assets and income are not qualifying factors and therefore do not affect eligibility. The veteran's injury or disease, however, must have been incurred or aggravated while on active military duty.

On the other hand, the Veterans Disability Pension Program is tailored for low-income veterans who are totally and permanently disabled. The disability need not be connected to time spent on active military duty. Unlike the previously mentioned compensation benefit, this is a needs-based program, similar to Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.

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Soldier on leave found dead

Soldier on leave found dead

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:01:13 EDT

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — A 24-year-old Army soldier who was home on leave after serving in Afghanistan and Germany died just days after he arrived in Alabama, authorities said Monday.

Spc. Toney L. Goble II was found dead in bed Friday morning at a home where he had spent the night, said Marshall County Coroner Marlon Killion. The cause of death wasn’t determined immediately.

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_goble_063008/

DOD to review comp cases 20% or less

Pentagon board to review disability ratings

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 8:26:52 EDT

Service members given a disability rating of 20 percent or lower during their medical evaluation boards since Sept. 11, 2001, may have their cases reviewed by a new Defense Department board.

The Physical Disability Board of Review was mandated by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act after several investigations — including an analysis of five years’ worth of Defense Department budget records by Military Times — showed discrepancies across the services in average amounts of disability benefits awarded. For example, Military Times found enlisted airmen averaged much higher monthly disability payments — $926 — than did enlisted Marines at $770 a month. And all the services tended to award more officers than enlisted personnel ratings of 50 percent or higher.

“The purpose of the [board] shall be to reassess the accuracy and fairness of the combined disability ratings assigned service members who were discharged as unfit for continued military service,” wrote David S.C. Chu, undersecretary for personnel and readiness, in a memo dated June 27. “The [board] shall operate in a spirit of transparency and accountability, and shall impartially readjudicate cases upon which review is requested or undertaken on its own motion.”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/military_medicalboard_review_063008w/

VA Losing Care Coordinators

VA Losing Care Coordinators
Rick Maze


Army Times

Jun 30, 2008

June 27, 2008 - The Department of Veterans Affairs has trouble keeping medical care coordinators for severely injured combat veterans, with four of the first eight people having to be replaced.

Two of the original Federal Recovery Coordinators hired late last year quit, and two have died, VA officials confirmed Thursday.

"Of the original eight, two have tragically died and two left the program for personal reasons," said VA spokeswoman Josephine Schuda.

VA officials and congressional aides, speaking on the condition of not being identified, said they knew that the jobs were going to be stressful — dealing with seriously ill or wounded combat veterans who have especially complex needs can be demanding — but no one anticipated such high turnover.
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http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10535

Dayton OH VA did not take rape of veteran seriously

What is wrong with these people? Don't they understand that rape is a crime and should be treated like it? How could they take this kind of attitude? How could they put a soldier being treated for sexual addiction problems anywhere near a woman in treatment?

Impartial Group Gets Rape Case at Local VA
Jim DeBrosse


Dayton Daily News

Jun 30, 2008

June 29, 2008, Dayton, OH - A 24-year-old female veteran's claim that she was raped in a residential facility at the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center is being investigated by VA officials from outside the Dayton VA.

The veteran, who asked not to be named, requested the independent investigation after complaining that staff at the Dayton VA did not take her allegations seriously. She said the March 25 incident was reported to VA staff March 26, but police records show she was not interviewed by VA police until April 25, almost a month later. The veteran has a service-connected physical injury.

Formal complaints filed

She filed formal complaints against five VA employees, including her mental health counselor, who "insisted (the incident) was consensual," her complaint alleges.

In the complaint, she also faults her case manager for having placed the alleged rapist in the same residential facility knowing that "he was seeing a (VA) psychologist for sexual addiction" and that she still "felt very used ... and violated" from the breakup of a consensual relationship with a VA intern involved in her care.
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http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10540

After Deaths, U.S. Inspects Electric Work Done in Iraq

After Deaths, U.S. Inspects Electric Work Done in Iraq
By JAMES RISEN
Gen. David H. Petraeus told Congress of the new inspections while also disclosing that at least 13 American personnel had been electrocuted in Iraq since the war began.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has ordered electrical inspections of all buildings in Iraq maintained by KBR, a major military contractor, after the electrocutions of several United States service members.

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the American commander in Iraq, told Congress of the new inspections while also disclosing that at least 13 Americans had been electrocuted in Iraq since the war began. Previously, the Pentagon said that 12 had been electrocuted. In addition to those killed, many more service members have received painful shocks, Army officials say.

General Petraeus’s written statement was made public on Monday afternoon by Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania. The statement said that of the 13 Americans electrocuted, 10 were in the Army, 1 in the Marines, and 2 were contractors.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a Green Beret from Pennsylvania, died Jan. 2 when he stepped into a shower and was electrocuted at his base in Baghdad. His death prompted investigations this spring by Congress and the Pentagon’s inspector general into evidence that poor electrical work at facilities used by American personnel had led to other electrocutions.
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Wounded Iraqi Forces Say They’ve Been Abandoned

Wounded Iraqi Forces Say They’ve Been Abandoned
By MICHAEL KAMBER
Iraqi veterans described their government’s treatment of them as at best indifferent and at worst vindictive.

BAGHDAD — Dawoud Ameen, a former Iraqi soldier, lay in bed, his shattered legs splayed before him, worrying about the rent for his family of five.

Mr. Ameen’s legs were shredded by shrapnel from a roadside bomb in September 2006 and now, like many wounded members of the Iraqi security forces, he is deeply in debt and struggling to survive. For now, he gets by on $125 a month brought to him by members of his old army unit, charity and whatever his wife, Jinan, can beg from her relatives. But he worries that he could lose even that meager monthly stipend.

In the United States, the issue of war injuries has revolved almost entirely around the care received by the 30,000 wounded American veterans. But Iraqi soldiers and police officers have been wounded in greater numbers, health workers say, and have been treated far worse by their government.

A number of the half-dozen badly wounded Iraqis interviewed for this article said they had been effectively drummed out of the Iraqi security forces without pensions, or were receiving partial pay and in danger of losing even that. Coping with severe injuries, and often amputations, they have been forced to pay for private doctors or turn to Iraq’s failing public hospitals, which as recently as a year ago were controlled by militias that kidnapped and killed patients — particularly security personnel from rival units.

No one knows the exact number of wounded Iraqi veterans, as the government does not keep track. In a 2006 report by the Congressional Research Service, Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson, the American commander in charge of Iraqi police training, said that in just two years, from September 2004 to October 2006, about 4,000 Iraqi police officers were killed and 8,000 were wounded.

That number does not include soldiers in the Iraqi Army, who are far more numerous than the police and, Iraqi commanders say, have suffered injuries at a far greater rate.
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Marines learn skills to save lives

Monday, June 30, 2008

Marines learn skills to save lives

Cpl. Jessica Aranda

AL ASAD, Iraq (June 14, 2008) – Marines deployed with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) recently became certified lifesavers after completing a class hosted by Navy corpsman here June 13.

The combat lifesaver skills course is designed to train non-medical personnel the basics of emergency care, enabling them to step in and provide assistance to patients and corpsman in a combat environment.

“While conducting combat operations, there could only be one corpsman assigned to an entire unit of Marines,” explained Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Rodrick Jones, the course instructor and corpsman with Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 3, 3rd MAW (Fwd.) “So when an emergency arises, these combat lifesavers become integral to stabilizing patients and assisting the corpsman.”
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Massachusetts seeks to boost services to veterans

Helping vets with hidden wounds left by US wars
Mass. is seeking to boost services

State lawmakers will convene the first of a series of meetings today to consider how to improve mental health services and programs for thousands of veterans returning to Massachusetts from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The committee will review how the state can supplement federal assistance for the more than 29,000 veterans in the state who have served in the military since Sept. 11, 2001.

The 19-member Hidden Wounds of War Commission will explore whether to establish mandatory mental health treatment programs for National Guard members, a state military family leave policy for caregivers of returning veterans, and a statewide training program to assist police, correction officers, and other officials in recognizing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"The federal government has not provided adequate services, and we want to know what we can do as a Commonwealth to be helpful," said state Senator Stephen M. Brewer, the commission's cochairman. "There are heart-wrenching stories that need action. Unfortunately, in our society there remains a stigma to mental health issues. Veterans may be reluctant to come forward. We want to see that they get the help they need."
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PTSD in Military: "A shared national problem"

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report

Coverage & Access Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Recent Developments Related to Veterans' Health
[Jun 23, 2008]
Summaries of several recent developments related to health care for veterans appear below.

Disparity for women: Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake on Friday said that the department has begun efforts to eliminate disparities in the quality of outpatient care for women, the AP/Orlando Sentinel reports. At the National Summit on Women Veterans' Issues, a meeting organized by VA and other veteran groups after the release of a report by the Associated Press that highlighted the issue, Peake said that the department will spend about $32 million on equipment to meet the health care needs of women. He said, "We are making a full-court press to ensure that women veterans receive the highest quality care" (Hefling, AP/Orlando Sentinel, 6/21).


Mental health: The Chicago Tribune on Monday examined the "complex decisions facing the U.S. military" in efforts to address the "mental health problems plaguing its troops while maintaining its warrior ethos and respect for the chain of command." According to the Department of Defense, physicians have diagnosed at least 40,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, and 12% to 15% of soldiers in combat areas take antidepressants or insomnia medications.

In 2007, 115 soldiers committed suicide, the highest annual number since the military began to track such cases, according to DOD. Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, chief medical officer for the Army, said that the Army needs to improve health care facilities and lacks an adequate number of mental health care providers. He said, "I think we can say as a nation that our mental health facilities and access to mental health providers is not adequate to the need right now," adding, "So part of the problem that we as a military are suffering is a shared national problem" (Madhani, Chicago Tribune, 6/23).
View entire Policy Report.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=52901

Veterans commission suggest PTSD cases higher than DOD thinks

If you take the data from Vietnam, add in the 50% increased risk of PTSD for redeployments and then factor in the stigma preventing too many from seeking help, it's easy to know that we will be facing at least a million diagnosed within the next 5 years. I'll be doing my end providing knowledge of what PTSD is and doing the outreach work to get them into treatment but will there be enough help for them waiting? This is my biggest concern. What good will it do to get them to understand what is wrong with them, get them over the notion there is anything to be ashamed of and talk them into going to be diagnosed if there is no one available to treat them?

Veterans commission suggest PTSD cases higher than DOD thinks
Monday, June 30, 2008, 10:01 PM
By Bob Priddy
The state veterans commission urges testing for post-traumatic stress disorder of every service member who comes back from battle zones, whether they stay in the military or leave it.

Sometimes post-traumatic stress disorder can take years or decades to manifest itself. A Rand Corporation study suggests 300-thousand American troops who've served in Afghanistan or Iraq suffer from PTSD or major depression.

Ombudsman Pat Rowe Kerr with the state veterans commission thinks the number of cases is on the rise in Missouri although she does not have raw numbers.
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http://www.missourinet.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=
DBD1074A-C33A-4690-8DFC40CCBA7B4645

NAMI New Mexico has free video for veterans mental health issues

Posted on Friday, Jun. 27, 2008
National Alliance on Mental Illness New Mexico Offers Free Video to Help Veterans Identify and Manage Mental Health Issues


The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New Mexico announced today that it is offering a free educational video to help returning soldiers in New Mexico identify and manage mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. With the support of a grant from OptumHealth, NAMI New Mexico will make the video available to returning soldiers, family members and others in the community who work with veterans from current and past conflicts.


"Many soldiers coming home may be facing mental health issues that can be treated.

Unfortunately, we know that some soldiers and family members do not seek help because they may not understand a soldier's condition, are not aware of the resources available, or might be afraid to seek help," says Becky Beckett, president of NAMI New Mexico. "With New Mexico's strong ties to the military, this national problem is also a local one. The 'Coming Home: Supporting Your Soldier' video will help our local soldiers understand that they are not alone and that help is available."


The Veteran's Health Administration projects that by September of this year, New Mexico will be home to more than 175,000 veterans, 45,000 of them from the Gulf War and other recent conflicts(1).
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As soon as I have a chance to watch it, I'll have more to post on this.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Troops and cold medicine ‘Ultimately, it will destroy your life’

Soldiers hope battle with cold medicines serves as warning to others
‘Ultimately, it will destroy your life’
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, July 2, 2008

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — Pfc. Stephen Wanser’s typical Saturday breakfasts were the same as his Friday night dinners: 16 Coricidin Cold and Cough pills, water or soda optional.

Wanser and his roommate, Pfc. Gary Cooper, 22, remained in a hallucinatory daze most of the weekend before crashing on Sundays.

Even when Wanser thought he nearly choked to death after taking the pills — a sign from God, the deeply religious 24-year-old believed — it was only enough to keep him off the drug for a month.

Coricidin contains more dextromethorphan, also known as DM or DXM, than most cold medicines.

In small doses, DXM relieves a cough. But large doses produce abnormally elevated moods and hallucinations typically associated with drugs like PCP and LSD.

Although there are few, if any, military studies on dextromethorphan abuse, medical and 2007 sales data from Camp Casey’s post exchange stores attest to the drug’s popularity.

In a place where all soldiers receive free health care and prescriptions, Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores sold as many as 300 boxes of Coricidin and its generic equivalent in one week, according to a paper presented at a national medical conference in May.

They would often read the Bible while tripping, discussing Solomon, heaven, hell and their place in the world.

Wanser said he felt closer to God during those times.

But he acknowledges that taking potentially fatal doses of drugs is a bad way to get there.

He experienced hyper-religiosity, a relatively common phenomenon among mania-prone users of psychedelic drugs, said Area I support psychiatrist Maj. Christopher Perry.

"As people become more manic and grandiose in their thinking, religion plays a larger role in their life," Perry explains.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55894



also on this

Sales spikes, overdoses prompt drug restrictions
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, July 2, 2008


CAMP CASEY, South Korea — When Pfc. Gary Cooper would go to the Camp Casey post exchange to get his fix of cold medicine, he had to act quickly.

"You get to the store and pick it up right away, because that stuff would sell so fast," Cooper said.

For several months last year, Cooper and Pfc. Stephen Wanser say they abused Coricidin Cough and Cold, which contains dextromethorphan, or DXM.

Wanser recalls other soldiers grabbing at the boxes as they were stocked. On another occasion, Wanser says a South Korean employee handed him four boxes when he asked for one.

By October, AAFES officials restricted sales of medicines with DXM to two boxes per month per servicemember, after consulting with medical officials.

Average sales dropped 57 percent following the restrictions, according to a study conducted by Area I support psychiatrist Maj. Christopher Perry and Capt. Eugene Chung.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55895

Young Marine "I'm no Vietnam vet, but a vet of Operation Iraqi Freedom"

From Healing Combat Trauma

PTSD: (That's Some) Pretty Terrible Sh*t (to Have to) Deal (With), Don't You Think?

Editor's Note: We commemorate the otherwise momentous, historic signing of the GI bill into law today with this little snippet of what life was like for someone who served recently. For everyone who doesn't "get" what sacrifice is, and that those who've served have earned their accolades and rewards, here's a grunt's-eye view of the experience of combat trauma, and how that relates to PTSD and various other topics in the news. It's doubtful that any one of us would like to have changed places with him, at such a young age. Herewith, his story, emphasis mine:


I'm no Vietnam vet, but a vet of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I turned 18 while in boot camp because I graduated high school at 17. I was discharged early for having "personality disorder" after I went to Iraq.



I was in the Marines, and my MOS was a ground communications electronics technician. A couple months after graduating my training for the job and going to my first unit, I was "volunteered" to join and train with another unit that was leaving soon. The new task I was given was "Mortuary Affairs".

This group was put together with a couple dozen other Marines from other sections. Our job was to go to locations where troops had been killed and not able to be retrieved by the group they were out with due to the fact they were under too much danger or whatever the case. I had no clue the effects this would have on me. It was a horrible experience.



It was not like going and picking up a corpse and that's it. For one, you were in a hot zone, where people were just killed, not just by gunfire.
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http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/2008/06/ptsd-pretty-terrible-sht-to-discover.html

More than half firearm deaths are suicides

More than half firearm deaths are suicides
Story Highlights
Recent Supreme Court ruling on guns focused on protection from home invasion

Suicides accounted for 55 percent of nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005 in U.S.

More gun-related suicides than homicides and accidents in 20 of last 25 years

Research shows if gun in home, higher likelihood of suicide or homicide in home


ATLANTA, Georgia, (AP) -- The Supreme Court's landmark ruling on gun ownership last week focused on citizens' ability to defend themselves from intruders in their homes. But research shows that surprisingly often, gun owners use the weapons on themselves.

Suicides accounted for 55 percent of the nation's nearly 31,000 firearm deaths in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There was nothing unique about that year -- gun-related suicides have outnumbered firearm homicides and accidents for 20 of the last 25 years. In 2005, homicides accounted for 40 percent of gun deaths. Accidents accounted for 3 percent. The remaining 2 percent included legal killings, such as when police do the shooting, and cases that involve undetermined intent.

Public-health researchers have concluded that in homes where guns are present, the likelihood that someone in the home will die from suicide or homicide is much greater.

Studies have also shown that homes in which a suicide occurred were three to five times more likely to have a gun present than households that did not experience a suicide, even after accounting for other risk factors.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/30/guns.suicides.ap/index.html